When the Atlanta City Council meets on Tuesday, they will be considering an ordinance requested by Mayor Andre Dickens to create a Mayor’s Office of Policy. But it remains to be seen if they’ll keep that name if it’s passed into law.
Atlanta’s code of ordinances already mentions a chief policy officer within the mayor’s office. But there’s no office in City Hall specifically tasked with developing and leading the implementation of the mayor’s policies and initiatives, according to the ordinance.
Courtney English, the mayor’s senior policy advisor who ran for City Council President in 2021, would lead an office to fill that gap. English said the office would house the city’s neighborhood ombudsman and policy advisors for neighborhoods, housing, partnerships, youth and education.
English fielded questions about it at last week’s City Council Finance Executive Committee — the same group with purview to review the office’s operations if it’s established.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
“No one should blame them for wanting to wade a little deeper into the policymaking pool,” said Councilman Howard Shook. “That’s good give and take.”
Shook asked if the team would serve as another layer between lawmakers and Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Units, to which English said no. Councilman Alex Wan said he’s worried about the redundancy of existing work. Council President Doug Shipman questioned if the team would grow larger.
English said he’s not stepping on the toes of Atlanta’s legislative branch. He said Chief Operating Officer Lisa Gordan focuses on Atlanta’s day-to-day operations, and his team would focus on Atlanta’s long-standing issues. He said it wouldn’t grow to the size of the chief of staff’s office or the mayor’s 38-member cabinet.
The committee passed the ordinance to the full council for consideration on the condition that City Hall will work on the proposal’s “marketing” prior to Tuesday. Many of the councilmembers voiced confusion about the use of the word “policy” to describe English’s crew.
“When you look up City Council, it does say we are the chief policy making body for the city,” said Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet. “I just want to make sure we position it right so it is received perfectly.”
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