Lithonia Mayor Joyce McKibben overstepped her authority when she fired the city's police chief last month, a DeKalb Superior Court Judge ruled this morning.

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"She exceeded her authority by charter," Judge Linda Warren Hunter said of McKibben's actions on April 7.

McKibben and the city council, which reinstated the chief unanimously, have been locked in a power struggle since the firing. McKibben had asked the court to decide the scope of her powers, as defined by the city charter, in late April.

Today's ruling is the second setback for McKibben. The state Legislative Counsel wrote an earlier opinion that the Lithonia charter limits the mayor's authority.

Despite the latest ruling, the court battles will continue. Interim City Attorney Debra Golymbieski filed a counter-claim against McKibben claiming, among other things, that the mayor had installed a password on a city computer that blocks other employees from accessing city records such as payroll.

The counterclaim also asks for McKibben to pay the city's court costs in the ongoing legal battle.

Hunter, who will issue a written ruling from this morning's case by Monday, has 30 days to set a hearing for the latest claims.