SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — — A South Fulton homeowner is taking the city back to court, claiming leaders continue to violate Georgia’s open records laws despite a court order meant to enforce transparency.
Reshard Snellings, a self-proclaimed advocate for open government, says this marks his third lawsuit against the city over what he calls repeated failures to follow the law.
Snellings told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln the legal battle began in 2023, after he tried to obtain basic public information about city projects, including audits and bank statements. He said he was met with delayed responses, excessive fees and heavily redacted documents—or in some cases, no response at all.
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“I had to file this third lawsuit just for transparency,” Snellings said.
In 2024, the City of South Fulton entered a consent decree promising to improve how it responds to public records requests. But Snellings and his attorney, Mario Williams, say the city has not upheld that agreement.
“They’re violating the consent order,” Snellings said, adding that the city recently ignored a records request he submitted in April 2025 for more than two months.
“It’s a way to try to make you go away,” Williams said. “If you can’t be held accountable by taxpayers, that’s what open records are about —accountability and transparency.”
Snellings said it’s especially frustrating given he was publicly recognized earlier this year with a proclamation for exposing questionable spending by South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau. Those records revealed the mayor had spent thousands on unapproved furniture and international travel. Now, Snellings believes his whistleblowing may be behind the city’s reluctance to fulfill new requests.
“I do think that that request is affecting these other requests,” he said.
Channel 2 Action News contacted the city for comment on the latest lawsuit but has not received a response.
Snellings is not seeking monetary compensation. Instead, he wants the court to ensure the city follows state laws regarding transparency. He says he hopes a judge will refer the matter to the attorney general’s office to investigate whether any criminal activity has occurred.
Because this is the third legal action over the city’s handling of public records, Williams says a judge could consider escalating the matter beyond civil enforcement.
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