DEL.ICIO.USClayton adds chief of staff amid questions
Fire chief promoted into newly created position; some say he’s being illegally paid
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A week after agreeing to freeze all new expenditures, the Clayton County Commission has added a chief of staff and may be illegally paying him.
The commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to promote Fire Chief Alex Cohilas to county chief of staff — a position that was just created. Cohilas said the move gives him a 10 percent raise, making his annual salary about $130,000.
JOHNNY CRAWFORD/AJC
Fire Chief Alex Cohilas, shown in a 2001 photo, gets a 10 percent raise with the promotion, making his annual salary about $130,000.
However, the money to pay him comes from funds that must be used solely for “fire prevention and suppression activities.”
“It’s another attempt at a takeover other than what the people of Clayton County have voted for,” County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said. “The action of the commission, I believe, is a violation of the laws of the general assembly.”
Bell and Commissioner Virginia Gray voted against the appointment.
Cohilas said he has a good working relationship with all the commissioners, including Bell. Cohilas will work under the direction of the chairman but will report to the full board.
Clayton does not have a county manager or administrator. Bell operates as the chief executive of the county and runs the county’s day-to-day operations.
Commissioner Michael Edmondson said the chairman needs help, but the county can’t afford to add staff. Edmondson said he recommended promoting the fire chief so the salary does not need to come from the county’s general fund, which covers all personnel and operating expenses.
“This way we can get help for the county and use money from the fire fund, which is not suffering,” Edmondson said.
In June, the commission approved a $22.9 million budget to be used solely for fire coverage for unincorporated Clayton, Jonesboro and Lovejoy. Residents in the two cities, which don’t have their own fire departments, pay an additional 3.9 mills of property taxes to be covered by the county fire department.
Jonesboro Mayor Luther Maddox said he plans to contact his city attorney about what he considers misuse of city money for county services.
“I do not believe my citizens should be helping pay for county staff. We have our own government and we pay for our own staff,” Maddox said Wednesday. “If we don’t need a fire chief, I don’t know why we got one. If they need a chief of staff for the county, they should put that in the county budget.”
Maddox said his citizens, particularly in a troubled economy, can’t afford to pay for services not benefiting them.
“We need fire money for fire services, like ambulances and fire trucks,” he added. “Maybe the commissioners need to give up their salaries if they need help running the county.”
Cohilas said his promotion is a cost-saving measure for the county and not illegal. He said he already handles emergency management operations, which are paid for by general funds.
“It is squeezing maximum work out of your top employees,” he said. “I can’t imagine if it was illegal that the county attorney would have ever drafted it and allowed it to go forward.”
Cohilas and Edmondson referred legal questions to county attorney Michael Smith. Smith did not return two phone calls or an e-mail Wednesday.
Neither Smith nor Bell mentioned possible legal ramifications while the appointment was made Tuesday.
Cohilas, a county employee since 1976, said he will continue some of his duties as fire chief. But much of those responsibilities will be passed on to deputy chiefs. The deputies will not receive a pay raise.
On Wednesday, Cohilas assembled a three-person transition team, including a fire battalion chief and two other fire employees.
Last week, the commission denied hiring a deputy chief of staff and a secretary for the incoming district attorney, saying they could not afford those hires in a tight budget.
“We have some serious budget issues,” Gray told the commission Tuesday. “I don’t see how we are going to come with this position. We went through this last week with similar requests from the DA. I don’t think the timing is correct.”
The commission has been scrutinizing all expenditures since last month when it learned it spent $22 million in reserve funds and was close to placing its bond rating in jeopardy. The state has also froze all grants to Clayton after the county failed to turn in required financial documents.
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