Atlanta City Councilmembers react to I-Team ParkAtlanta report

A FOX 5 I-Team report on ParkAtlanta kicked off a firestorm on local talk shows on Thursday. Atlanta City Councilmembers say they want answers after the investigation revealed the top city and ParkAtlanta officials had numerous parking tickets dismissed.

"Clearly, public confidence erodes when there is appearance of impropriety -- whether it's real or perceived," said Councilmember H. Lamar Willis.

Council members have worked for years on the Atlanta parking battles. A public works executive claimed that the tickets were part of a secret shopper test program.

"I knew that there was some type of secret shopper program supposedly, and being implemented because when we had original meetings years ago that came out of that. The way it's being implemented, raises a lot of questions," said Councilmember Michael Bond.

Council members said the issue will require more discussion.

"I feel very confident that the mayor and Council will expect very detailed explanations about this program, how it has operated," Willis said.

Atlanta Chief Operation Officer Duriya Farooqui released a statement on Thursday saying that she will review what has been happening to city employees who get parking tickets and what has been happening to those tickets. She said that she is concerned about any appearance of inequity.

RELATED LINK: See the original I-Team report on ParkAtlanta here