Power struggle heating up in DeKalb

By April Hunt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A battle that goes to the heart of control in DeKalb County government is heating up, with one official talking about hiring an outside attorney.

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Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com DeKalb County Chief Executive Burrell Ellis (seen here delivering the State of the County address on Jan. 5, and the county commission are locked in a power struggle.

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Two weeks ago, Chief Executive Burrell Ellis made a rare appearance at a county commission meeting to defend his recess appointment of Gary Cornell as interim planning director. Ellis had earlier withdrawn that appointment after being informed a majority of the commission would not approve Cornell.

Tuesday, with Cornell sitting in the audience and working as interim director since Jan. 9, Commissioner Lee May said he wants to hire an outside attorney to decide if Cornell can hold the job. He also hinted that he wants the matter to go to court to be resolved.

“It’s basically a backdoor way of putting him in charge of the planning department when a majority of commissioners had an issue with that,” Commissioner Lee May said. “I would ask we seek outside counsel and put this issue to rest.”

Ellis defended his right to appoint an interim director in general and Cornell in particular.Cornell, he noted, has 33 years’ experience in planning, including seven years as director of Gwinnett County’s planning office and 11 years as a senior community planner for Jacobs Engineering.

“He is eminently qualified to serve as DeKalb County’s director of planning and sustainability,” Ellis said.

In a statement, Ellis said his actions are in line with the power given to his office in the county's organization act, or charter. The charter’s language is interpreted differently by commissioners, however, making some think a final answer can only come from a court ruling.

The back-and-forth is just the latest battle in an ongoing war over power and authority in DeKalb. The county’s unique structure calls for the CEO to run the daily business of DeKalb but also grants broad policy making ability in the board.

That division has led to fights over individual positions before. Last year, the commission eliminated the public safety director job in its final budget approval. Ellis, however, said the board could only cut funding and not positions. The uneasy conclusion has been that William Miller remains the director but Ellis also named him head of the 911 center, to solidify his standing.

So far, both the commission and CEO have avoided heading to court over such battles, over worries it will alienate voters.

May said Tuesday he has not yet asked whether the board should vote to hire an outside attorney for the planning director review or if he will spend some of his district salary on the expense.