The city of Dunwoody has spent more than $25,000 to uncover which city officials leaked information to a local newspaper about a real estate deal.
An investigation, paid for by the city and released late Monday, revealed City Councilwoman Adrian Bonser and City Attorney Brian Anderson were sources of a leak that came to light when details of a closed meeting on Feb. 3 were published in a local paper.
There is no indication the leak has any effect on the deal, or if the leaked information could wind up costing taxpayers additional money in order to acquire the land in a complex land-swap deal.
The mayor and another council member have called for Anderson to be fired over the incident. Anderson, who has been suspended with pay, has argued he did nothing wrong and has submitted results of a polygraph test to the council.
Bonser said Tuesday she plans to release a statement later this week.
Questions have also been raised whether the closed meeting was proper in the first place.
Investigator Bob Wilson's report said Bonser and Anderson revealed details of a complicated deal in which the city would swap land for other parcels owned by a developer. Wilson, a former DeKalb County District Attorney, wrote that because the transaction involved swapping land, the sale and acquisition were intertwined and eligible for closed discussion.
But the Georgia Open Meetings Act, both in its former and recently revised forms, does not allow for discussions of property sales in closed session.
Holly Manheimer, executive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, questioned whether the meeting was legitimate.
"Exemptions under the old and new open meetings law are extremely narrowly interpreted," she said. "The limited exception under the old law for future acquisition of real estate would have only applied in a very limited set of circumstances and could not be expanded to include other real estate transactions."
The report states that Anderson sanctioned the closed meeting at the time, but he has reversed his stance and is now arguing the topic was not protected.
Mayor Mike Davis and Councilman Terry Nall called for Anderson's dismissal at the May 14 city council meeting, but the motion failed when a majority voted to wait until they had time to read over the full report. Anderson was suspended that same day.
Davis said Tuesday he plans to reintroduce the measure at the May 29 council meeting.
About the Author
