SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Mayor Kobi, the mayor of South Fulton, addressed residents on Wednesday for the first time after being walked out of City Hall last week.
He spoke for more than an hour at Akhirah’s Café in College Park.
The mayor has been under fire since documents showed he used taxpayer money to buy international trips and expensive office furniture, among other things.
Wednesday night, Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers was there as he answered questions from voters and explained some of his spending, like his trips to Ghana and Paris.
“I’ve been traveling the world promoting South Fulton,” Mayor Kobi said. “My idea is that South Fulton can be a hub for international Black Commerce.”
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Some South Fulton residents said they wanted to see how the trips were helping the city’s economic development.
“If you’re going and don’t bring anything back for us, then that’s just a vacation,” said South Fulton resident Lula Gilliam.
Mayor Kobi said from his trips, the city got two Fulbright Scholars and an international business that wants to move to South Fulton, although he wouldn’t say which business.
He said he bought the pool table because he wanted to create a certain atmosphere.
“The rationale is that I wanted to create a workplace of the 21st Century,” Mayor Kobi said.
He said he took his inspiration from tech companies like Google and Visa. He said he created the media studio to help create videos to get younger voters more engaged.
“We got a $20,000 donation to cover the cost for the taxpayers for that,” Mayor Kobi said.
While the mayor had an answer for just about everything asked by a crowd of a few dozen people, some weren’t fully convinced.
“I believe in total transparency in government, and I’m not seeing that,” Gilliam said. “I’m not satisfied yet.”
Others said they believe the mayor.
“I feel good about what I heard tonight,” South Fulton resident Mike Johnson said. “I got a little more clarity about the allegations. I got a little more clarity about how we got here.”
Lexicon Strategies, a PR firm working on behalf of the city released the following statement following the town hall:
“The City of South Fulton remains committed to transparency and fiscal responsibility and ensuring that the laws and rules are complied with. A forensic audit of the mayor’s expenditures is now underway along with normal legal processes to protect the city and taxpayer interests. Once that process is complete, the City Council will convene to review the findings and determine any necessary next steps.”
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The mayor said the city council is misspending money. He said they double-paid a vendor, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. He also said the council hasn’t been acting in the best interest of taxpayers. He said they changed city charters so that he didn’t have the power to fire city employees who weren’t doing their job correctly.
He said they overreached their authority when he was removed from city hall last week following an executive session in council that he says he was kicked out of attending.
The city council says the mayor will be allowed to resume his official duties on city premises, but he will not be allowed to use his city-issued vehicle. They said his removal from his office at city hall was a temporary measure, so city employees could remove any objects they believed might have been purchased by misusing taxpayer money.
The mayor said because of all the infighting, he’s not sure how they move forward as a governing body.
“How do we work together better, I’m going to be honest, I don’t think we can,” Mayor Kobi said.
He said voters will either have to choose a new mayor or a new council.
People who came out to the town hall said they would like to see the city audit everyone on the council, including the mayor.
The next city council meeting is Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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