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Fulton County Taxpayers Question Coffin's Firing

From the 8/7/08 Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation E-Letter:

Dear Members and Supporters,

Last week, Senior Arborist Tom Coffin was fired without explanation.The story was so poignant, that the New York Times picked it up, as well as the Associated Press, Discover Magazine (Blog), Huffington Post, Fort Mill (SC) Times, Columbus (Ga) Ledger-Enquirer and The Examiner.com.

See the link to the left for the NYTimes article. According to sources, the battle has developers and builders on one side and Atlanta's trees on the other. Coffin cited over 70 violations of illegal tree removal from developers during his tenure. As of today, Coffin has not been told the specific reason for his firing.

Couple this with developers wanting to use TAD funds for projects (on the ballot this November) and the blatant mismanagement of the City, we must wonder what is really happening and why a loyal, City worker was fired with no explanation.

We urge you to email Mayor Franklin, calling for a full investigation into Coffin's dismissal. The FCTF will pass on more information as we receive it.

Sincerely,

Barbara Payne
Executive Director

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