ATLANTA, Ga. – Fulton County’s Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts, Cathelene “Tina” Robinson, is estimated to be taking home more than half a million dollars annually – funded by taxpayers and fees associated with government services.
According to public records requests filed and obtained by The Atlanta Press, Clerk Robinson had an annual base gross income of about $168,323 from paychecks issued in 2021, and an annual base gross income of about $185,771 from paychecks issued in 2022.
But that’s not all the money she’s receiving. And, it appears these dollars are not accounted for in the public records available from Fulton County.
“It is my understanding that the fees collected and retained by Fulton Court Clerk Tina Robinson resulted in additional annual personal compensation of $360,000 in 2021, alone,” said Fulton County Vice Chairman Bob Ellis in a statement sent to The Atlanta Press.
The Atlanta Press has independently confirmed with at least two other confidential sources knowledgeable on the matter who also all said Clerk Robinson is making about an extra $360,000 on top of her six-figure salary through the fees her employees earn from processing passports. However, county employees under the clerk do not receive any additional compensation according to records.
“All hard working citizens should be alarmed and outraged at this and demand change,” Ellis said.
In Georgia, it is legal for clerks of superior courts and probate court judges to pocket passport application and processing fees as part of their personal income, in addition to their base salary. The processing fee is $35 per passport.
“These were in addition to her six-figure annual salary and were retained with no knowledge of the electorate or the Board of Commissioners as they were not disclosed anywhere, another aspect of this, which is not acceptable,” Ellis said.
Fulton County elected officials and department heads, among others, are required to file an Income and Financial Disclosure Report with the Clerk of the Fulton County Commission annually. Pursuant to Section 2-79 of the Fulton County Code of Ethics, on or before April 15 of each calendar year, each must file an Income and Financial Disclosure Report with the Clerk to the Commission to cover the preceding calendar year.
“I had high hopes for Clerk Tina Robinson, but this is disturbing. Fulton taxpayers deserve better. My organization is looking into this matter on behalf of multiple groups who believe in good governance and stand with Fulton citizens”, said Gerald Rose, CEO of New Order National Human Rights, Inc.
After The Atlanta Press first received the tip from confidential sources about Clerk Robinson’s high earnings, The Atlanta Press submitted a formal public records request to receive the information officially from Fulton County human resources.
The Atlanta Press submitted a public records request to review Clerk Robinson’s income and salary on February 13, 2023.
The Atlanta Press’s public records request to Fulton County asked for the following information:
“Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), the Atlanta Press media news organization is requesting all public records showing salary information for Cathelene “Tina” Robinson, who is Fulton County’s Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts. Please produce records showing Robinson’s salary information, including by providing all relevant pay records and pay stubs, whether electronic or paper, in the county’s possession showing any payments made to Robinson. In providing salary information, provide any records showing any deposits made from any public funds (city of Atlanta, Fulton County, etc.) to an account that Robinson owns, has access to, and/or receives payment from. We would like to inspect the dollar amounts. This request is for all payment records for Robinson beginning January 01, 2021, until the time records are produced per this request. We are requesting these records be produced on a timely, rolling basis — which means, produced immediately as they become available. We prefer to receive records in an electronic format, Excel, PDF, scanned copies, etc. We are willing to discuss aspects of this request to ensure a reasonable processing time frame.”
According to Georgia public records law, an agency must produce records responsive to a request within three business days absent exceptional circumstances, stated in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(a), § 50-18-72(e)(2).
However, nine days passed after The Atlanta Press’s initial request, and Fulton County had not provided an update or any documents showing salary information for Robinson.
The Atlanta Press contacted the county about their exceeding the allocated three days to respond.
Our email, sent in by investigative reporter Crystal Bui on behalf of The Atlanta Press on February 22, said in part:
“I submitted an Open Records Request nine days ago, with the reference number: R001107-021323 in regard to salary information for Cathelene “Tina” Robinson, who is Fulton County’s Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts.
I imagine if Fulton County is maintaining proper records, this salary information should be readily available and easily produced. Personnel records are subject to public disclosure.
[ … ]
As you also know, per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-74, any person or entity knowingly and willfully violating the provisions by failing or refusing to provide access to records not subject to exemption or by knowingly and willingly frustrating or attempting to frustrate the access to records by intentionally making records difficult to obtain or review shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Two days later, on February 24, The Atlanta Press received a response from Unique McCray, Office of the County Attorney that said the following:
Human Resources and Finance are still working on this request. Please allow an additional 5 business days for a response. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience.
It wasn’t until March 2, about 17 days after The Atlanta Press requested this public information, that Fulton County provided the records showing Clerk Robinson’s salary. They have not provided any documents or acknowledged the additional $360,000 that those knowledgeable on the matter say Clerk Robinson is also making on top of her six-figure salary.
Some lawmakers are looking to end this practice.
Georgia State Senator Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta) sponsored Senate Bill 19 which seeks to do just that. SB 19 proposed 50 percent of fees for processing passports go to the clerk’s office to cover expenses while the other 50 percent goes to the county’s general fund. If passed, SB 19 would also require officials to disclose how much they made from passport fees.
SB 19 originally allowed counties to pay up to $7,500 for those processing passports, which would be the first time Georgia is attempting to put a cap on this practice. However, an amendment later passed that would instead raise the cap to a $20,000 annual limit, that superior court clerks and probate judges can take home as income for processing passport fees through their offices.
SB 19 passed in the Georgia State Senate 34-19 and now moves to the House.
Ellis said the Fulton’s Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on February 15th – two days after The Atlanta Press filed its public records requests – supporting SB 19.
“I hope the state legislature gets the proposed legislation passed and this practice ends once and for good,” said Ellis.
If Robinson’s name is familiar, that’s because of previous news reports on Robinson being adverse to the functioning of the Courts. In 2019, Fulton County Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk sued Robinson, asking that Robinson be compelled to perform magistrate clerk duties she was not performing, according to the filing.
Judge Kirk appointed Clerk Robinson to take over magistrate court responsibilities in 2016. Since 2019, Judge Kirk has sought to replace Clerk Robinson by appointing a new clerk for magistrate court, but some members of the Fulton County Commission have been slow to act and resistant to Robinson’s replacement, in particular Fulton Chairman Rob Pitts.
Currently, the majority of Fulton commissioners have conceded that the chief magistrate judge should be able to appoint a new clerk.
Our investigation also uncovered allegations of ongoing concerns with the office of Clerk Robinson, including a consistent stream of citizen complaints, unanswered phone calls, long wait times, and clerks giving litigants misinformation or untimely notice for court.
A government watchdog organization provided information to The Atlanta Press about the clerk’s office improperly closing out criminal cases and failing to send the dispositions to the GBI. According to the agency, these failures directly affect public safety as the GBI can only upload sentences and dispositions into its GCIC system, which are reported by the county’s clerks. The GCIC forms the basis for decisions courts make about whether to release someone accused of a crime.
The Atlanta Press will provide additional information in our upcoming reporting on how Fulton residents have been adversely impacted.
The Atlanta Press reached out to Clerk Robinson, requesting an interview or statement regarding her pay. She did not respond to our request.
