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The Dunwoody City Council voted May 29 to approve a settlement agreement rather than fire City Attorney Brian Anderson for allegedly leaking details from an executive session to the media.

Anderson, who was on paid suspension pending the outcome of the city council decision, will receive a severance package of two months’ salary and benefits, which total approximately $29,000.

The council voted 6-1 in favor of the agreement with Anderson. Councilman Denis “Denny” Shortal voted against the agreement because he thought Anderson’s severance package was too much. The agreement states Anderson cannot seek further damages from the city.

The city council tabled a vote to fire Anderson in May because several members said they wanted to see the results of an investigation performed by law firm Wilson, Morton and Downs. Earlier in the year, the city hired the law firm to investigate the alleged leaks and the firm released a 40-page report May 21 detailing its findings.

The investigative report found that Anderson and councilwoman Adrian Bonser leaked confidential information. However, both deny any wrongdoing and Bonser said, “The integrity of the investigation itself is highly questionable.”

“[Bob] Wilson and his associate had a specific agenda and set of targets,” Bonser said.

The city spent $25,000 on the investigation and Dunwoody spokesman Bob Mullen said it expects another invoice from Wilson’s firm in the future but couldn’t speculate on the amount of the bill. Bonser said the investigation was also a waste of taxpayer money and described it as “sloppy at best and politically motivated at worst.”

Anderson could not be reached for comment on this story but claims he did nothing wrong, reports state.

“The city is just doing what it needs to do now to move forward,” Mullen said. He said the next step for the city is to hire a new attorney.