Louisville Metro Councilman Brent Ackerson, D-26, is calling on the government accountability committee to investigate Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2, who has been embroiled in a series of scandals.Since May, Shanklin has faced mounting questions about the use of citys grants from her office, particularly for an upholstery training program for ex-convicts that served no former inmates but that she and her relatives participated in.The city's internal audit is conducting a review of the jobs program and a report is pending.It has also been reported that $3,000 in taxpayer money went to Shanklin's family members through funding of the Petersburg-Newburg Neighborhood Association, which she is a board member. Until last year, Shanklin has personally signed checks to the group since 2005.An audit of council discretionary spending founda lack monitoring in the majority of those grants, but the report called out Shanklin specifically for having a conflict of interest in funding the neighborhood group while being a board member.Ackerson says he is concerned about the oversight of taxpayer dollars as well as media reports, adding he wants to know the full story behind Shanklin's controversies."Controversy such as this do not bode will for government period. There's a lot of questions that are raised about discretionary funds. Negative stories out there that don't talk about everything and don't give government a chance to address those, all they do is create improper conclusions. And I'm a firm believer in discretionary funds and what they can do for an area," he says.No one has filed a formal complaint against Shanklin with the Metro Ethics Commission despite suggestions from the Louisville Courier-Journal's editorial board.Thus far Shanklin has limited her public comments on the matter and declined WFPL's request to comment for this story. But Democratic Caucus spokesman Tony Hyatt tells WFPL that Shanklin is supportive of Ackerson's request for a public inquiry and looks forward to the investigation.Ackerson is vice chair of the accountability panel and does not have the authority to set the committee's agenda.In a statement replying to Ackerson's request, Government Accountability and Ethics Committee Chairman Jerry Miller, R-19, say he is concerned a premature investigation could tamper with the process.From Miller's office: