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Attachment to complaint against the City of Atlanta – D.A. King

The IERB has already found the City of Atlanta to be in violation of OCGA 50-36-1 in that Atlanta illegally processed and renewed business licenses without offering or collecting the required SAVE affidavits. These violations were estimated to number about 1400 each year for a period of at least five years – (2012-2016) – depending on when the 2017 business license renewals were processed.

1) Additional violation: False annual compliance report

OCGA 50-36-1 also requires that each agency administering public benefits file an annual compliance report. Assuming that the City of Atlanta filed such a report each of the years in question, those reports would be false. There is also a violation if such reports of compliance were not filed.

(OCGA 50-36-1 – “(k) It shall be unlawful for any agency or political subdivision to provide or administer any public benefit in violation of this Code section. Agencies and political subdivisions subject to the requirements of this subsection shall provide an annual report to the Department of Audits and Accounts pursuant to Code Section 50-36-4 as proof of compliance with this subsection. Any agency or political subdivision failing to provide a report as required by this subsection shall not be entitled to any financial assistance, funds, or grants from the Department of Community Affairs.”

2) Request for remedial action and investigation of settlement of prior complaint against the city of Atlanta: Re; Business license/occupational tax certificate for La Amistad, Inc. located at 3434 Roswell Road, NW Atlanta, GA.

La Amistad Inc. is operating in the city of Atlanta and was apparently one of the businesses from which Atlanta had not collected a SAVE affidavit as described above. A reply to an open records request (attached, marked “A”) reveals that the city of Atlanta does not have a SAVE affidavit (or an E-Verify affidavit) on file from La Amistad as of October 18, 2017. This is despite the pledge from Atlanta to rectify the violation for which the IERB has fined Atlanta.

I hereby request that the board investigate the original date of any business license issued to La Amistad Inc. so as to confirm that business was part of the list of non-profits excluded from the affidavit requirement of OCGA 50-36-1 by Atlanta.

Regardless of the original date of licensing, I also request that the board use its investigative authority and budget to learn why Atlanta has not collected the required SAVE affidavit from La Amistad. Operating a lawful administration of public benefits was a condition of the settlement of the prior complaint and sanction of $1000.00.