Local Government

Brickbat: Other People's Money

Charles Oliver | 3.18.2026 4:00 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney/Eti Swinford/Dreamstime)

The city council in College Park, Georgia, is investigating after $3,000 in taxpayer money was used to help pay for a private funeral for a city custodian's son. The custodian first asked a council member for help, who sent him to City Manager Mike Hicks. Hicks admitted he approved the payment because the family could not afford the funeral, saying, "I am a staff member first before I sat in this seat, and I am vulnerable to the staff's needs." But the mayor and the city attorney each questioned the payment, which was made without the council approving it, and warned that the Georgia gratuities law generally prohibits governments from giving public money to private individuals as a gift or donation unless it serves a clear public purpose.

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Charles Oliver is a contributing editor at Reason.

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