Transition in DeKalb is off to a contentious start

As DeKalb County’s next chief executive officer prepares to move into the top-floor corner office of the county administrative building, his kingmaker is churning through paperwork trying to figure out what makes DeKalb tick.

Burrell Ellis will assume control over metro Atlanta’s third-largest county in January, after an eight-year run by the term-limited Vernon Jones. But the handoff has been rough, with Ellis and Jones sparring over the role of Kevin Ross, Ellis’ campaign manager.

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MIKKI K. HARRIS / mkharris@ajc.com

DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones criticized invoices from his incoming successor’s former campaign chief.

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Ross is overseeing a $155,000 transition process for the new administration. Jones has said the money is excessive, and he threatened to cease payments to Ross after he said Ross submitted an invoice without documentation. The County Commission has backed Ellis, voting unanimously recently to order Jones to pay the bill.

The man at the center of the conflict is a well-known political operative. Ross helped Bill Campbell win the Atlanta mayor’s office. He also played a key role in the campaigns of historic figures such as Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights leader who went to Congress, and the late Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first black mayor.

Ross, a lawyer who runs a political consulting firm called the Kevin Ross Public Affairs Group, is less known for the quiet work he does behind the scenes after a political victory. He said he’s managed several transitions, including Campbell’s and that of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.

Now, Ross is heading Ellis’ transition team of three paid staffers and 40 volunteers. The bulk of the transition contract approved by the County Commission — $85,000 — goes to accounting firm KPMG, which is to review county operations, analyze data and identify problems.

Ross, meanwhile, is submitting three invoices for $16,666.66. His contract calls for a flat fee of $50,000, or to be more exact, two pennies less than that.

That total, $49,999.98, was among Jones’ complaints. He suggested that it was selected because it is pennies below the county’s threshold for competitive bidding. The law in DeKalb generally requires bids for contracts over $50,000.

Jones likened it to the sub-$50,000 payments his administration was criticized for making to technology consultants. An audit by KPMG earlier this year found widespread violations of county procurement law.

“You can make up your mind and think whatever you want to think,” Jones said of Ross’ contract.

Ross said he wasn’t trying to avoid the bid threshold. He said he picked the contract amount because it seemed fair. “I divided it by three and didn’t round up,” he said. “It’s that simple.”

Jones raised the issue at a recent County Commission meeting where he threatened to cancel Ross’ contract. Jones also said Ross submitted a one-page invoice that lacked detail showing what work was done.

Jones had claimed he had authority to cancel contracts where money was unaccounted for and “illegal actions have been taken.” He cited two county purchasing cards issued to Ross and one of his employees. Jones said those cards should only go to county employees.

Richard Stogner, Jones’ executive assistant, said he issued the cards. Jones canceled the cards after several hundred dollars were spent on office supplies, postage and food that Ross said was for meetings attended by Ellis’ transition team.

A summary document obtained from the county says Ross spent $34 on one card for parking and his assistant spent $604.42 on the other. Receipts provided by Ross show purchases such as boxed lunches from Blimpie, three-ring binders from Office Depot and Office Max, water from Kroger and cookies and fruit from Publix.

Ellis, who has spent eight years on the DeKalb commission, said his transition team is providing a fresh set of eyes on county operations and possible problems. He sought the guidance of local leaders from diverse fields. His transition team includes former U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander, DeKalb Sheriff Thomas Brown and the interim director of Georgia’s Division of Public Health, Dr. Sandra Ford.

Correspondence, calendars, meeting agendas and other documents provided by Ross show a methodical effort to query every county department, advisory board and external authority about what they do and how they spend money.

In October and November, Ross coordinated meetings between Ellis’ volunteers and county officials in dozens of agencies. The officials were asked about what works in their departments and what doesn’t — and about what they would change.

Ross has played traffic cop with the information, digesting and consolidating it into follow-up questions that KPMG is supposed to answer. Auditors from the accounting firm are already meeting with county staff and asking questions that get at staff productivity and use of money.

They want to know why some budgets have increased in recent years. They’re questioning purchases. They’re asking for the names of anyone hired or moved to protected positions since Aug. 5, the night Ellis won the runoff primary election. They’re also asking some officials to “make the case” for why they shouldn’t be consolidated into another department.

KPMG will submit its answers to the transition team volunteers, who will then gather their conclusions and make recommendations. Ross will write a final report due sometime in mid-December.

Jones accused Ellis and his transition team of harassing employees, claiming he was exacting revenge on those who opposed his election. Ellis denies that, saying he doesn’t know who voted for or against him.

Ellis justifies the cost of the transition, saying he needs a thorough review of the government to make wise decisions, and so he’s ready to act as soon as he’s in office.

He faces a bracing first year. With revenues plummeting, the county is looking at a projected budget shortfall next year of around $40 million. And the county is expecting to start 2009 with only $8 million in reserves, down from $47 million at the start of this year. Normally, bond rating agencies like to see enough savings to run a county for several months, but DeKalb’s current reserves would last less than a week.

At a recent town hall meeting near Dunwoody, Ellis warned of a pending “deficit situation” and said his team was looking for wasteful expenditures, including “unproductive employees or people who got jobs just because they were friends of an elected official.”

“In a county of this size, there is probably some bloat,” the next CEO told the crowd. “That’s exactly what we’re looking at now.”