Atlanta fires building department employees after ethics probe

The terminations and charges come at the end of an investigation into the city's Office of Buildings that began in January 2014. Then, Atlanta's law department began to look into the office after an audit found a $28 million surplus and too-long wait times to receive building permits. There are about 110 employees in the office.

Tim Keane, who was hired last summer as the commissioner of the Office of Buildings, said he will strengthen operations and standards within the office.

“These changes will result in a process that is highly attuned to the needs of customers and the public, and ensures best quality customer service,” he said in a statement.

Through its investigation, the law department found employees took improper cash loans, approved inspections at buildings they had not visited and waived application fees without having the authority to do so. Four employees failed voice stress tests when asked whether they had ever accepted bribes or gratuities while they worked in the office.

Keane said in a statement Thursday that the city “will not tolerate unethical behavior” and that the terminations are an important step forward for the office.

He also said he has been working “diligently” to fix the building permits office. He is spearheading a new permitting process that will “create a consistent, predictable and efficient service” for the department, he said in a written response to the law department’s findings.

In that letter, dated Thursday, Keane said the problems in the department were a “longstanding, generational challenge.” By May, he said, he hopes to have introduced a new permitting structure. In 18 months, Keane said, there will be substantial improvement to the office, including the creation of a one-stop permit center.

Keane also said he is training staff and implementing new procedures to address some of the problems the law department found. Inspectors will have annual rotations to minimize the risk of preferential treatment or fraud. Expediters, who help residents move their permits through the process, will also be trained on the office’s ethical rules.

The fired employees include two commercial plan reviewers and one worker in the Department of Watershed Management. The construction expediter, who was a former Atlanta employee in the department, was charged with misdemeanor theft by taking and felony forgery.

No others face criminal charges at this time. No names were released.

In the earlier audit, City Auditor Leslie Ward found that some employees let applicants receive permits ahead of others, even though they had not paid all of their fees. The city’s ethics officer had previously found evidence of favoritism and conflicts of interest inside the office.