Atlanta council committee presses for changes to Vacancy Review Board after onboarding briefing

Council Chief of Staff Kempson Wright told the Atlanta City Council Committee on Council that onboarding for the 2026–2029 term began in November and included coordinated work across human resources, Atlanta Information Management and facilities to provision devices, set up email accounts and run mandatory trainings.

Wright said the city provided equipment and training in advance of the January swearing-in and announced a second, in‑depth training session for staff on Monday, March 23. She also summarized the Vacancy Review Board (VRB) relaunch: the Department of Human Resources issued a relaunch notice Dec. 6, 2024, the VRB formally resumed Jan. 2, 2025, and membership includes the chief operating officer, deputy COO, the CFO and the HR commissioner.

The VRB, Wright said, "reviews every requested position for fiscal year 2026 hiring and issue[s] approval or denial" and typically convenes monthly; departments submit a request-to-fill with position details and budget checks before personnel actions proceed.

Several council members expressed strong concerns that the VRB's role has interfered with the council's operational autonomy and slowed routine hiring. Council Member Liliana Bactiari and others described delays — including month‑long waits to onboard staff or to approve salary adjustments — and framed the practice as a separation‑of‑powers issue because the VRB is housed in the executive branch.

Council Member Collins said council offices need a mechanism to notify the administration when staff are hired without waiting for the next VRB meeting, and asked staff to prepare legislation. Council Member Bella, who said she has served for more than three decades, urged returning to earlier practices and asked staff to research whether certain benefits historically came from the general fund instead of individual council office budgets.

Wright responded that a 30‑day turnaround is typically requested and that in practice the VRB has approved requests even when items were over budget. She agreed to work with the law department to draft a legislative 'shell' today and to follow up on questions about benefits funding and specific process changes.

The committee did not take a formal vote on VRB policy changes during the meeting; members asked staff to draft proposals for future consideration.