A power struggle in Snellville gained new momentum this month with the Georgia Attorney General ruling that the mayor can not legally fill the vacant city manager's position.

Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer was surprised Wednesday to hear about the ruling, but insisted he has not overstepped his authority and doesn't plan to change his actions.

Jason Getz /AJC (ENLARGE)

Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, (right) does some business with City Clerk Karen McKay (left) earlier this year at City Hall.

Recent headlines: Gwinnett youth drowns in Lake Lanier  Kids gather in Norcross for national bridge competition  Lawrenceville to vote on linking college students to jobs, services     • Gwinnett County news

"I'm not the city manager. I'm the mayor," Oberholtzer said before hurrying off to a weekly meeting of city department heads. "I'm not hiring or firing employees. I'm not evaluating them."

Oberholtzer says he is merely attending meetings to get a update about the city's business, not to direct it.

"I don't order," he said. "I recommend. I make suggestions."

Not so, said Mayor Pro Tem Warren Auld, who believes the mayor is wielding more power than the law allows as the city continues to conduct a national search for a city manager.

The city initially hired Jim Brooks to fill in as interim manager, but the mayor didn't want to extend Brooks' contract when it expired in February. Oberholtzer instead took it upon himself to stay abreast of day-to-day city business.

"I asked him to appoint an interim city manager but he said he didn't have to do that," Auld said of a February discussion with the mayor. "He said as CEO of the city he'd be assuming those duties."

Auld sent a letter to state Sen. Don Balfour last month asking him to lobby for the guidance of state Attorney General Thurbert Baker.

Baker issued an opinion this month making it clear: "The mayor is not authorized to both act in his capacity as the elected executive leader of the city and also as the city manager because such dual service is inherently incompatible and inappropriate."

Mayors aren't supposed to give direction or orders to city employees publicly or privately. That's the job of the city manager, Baker wrote in his opinion. A copy of the opinion obtained Wednesday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Oberholtzer said he is merely making sure the city stays on track.

"The charter says I have chief executive powers," he said. "I'm responsible for everything that goes on."

Auld said the mayor doesn't seem to understand where his authority stops.

"He has been directing staff and department heads, which the attorney general specifically said he cannot do," Auld said.

The mayor said he doesn't plan on changing his daily routine based on Baker's opinion.

"Just because the attorney general gives an opinion, that's not a binding opinion," the mayor said. "Is he going to have me arrested or sue me? He can't."