Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May is bringing together residents to study overhauling the county's form of government — including the potential for eliminating the CEO position.
May announced the DeKalb County Charter Review Commission on Thursday, which will work until next summer and then make recommendations for state lawmakers to consider in 2018.
The board could review ending the county's CEO position, changing the number of county commissioners, instituting term limits and more.
DeKalb is the only county in Georgia with an elected CEO in charge of the executive branch. Many other counties have an unelected county manager who oversees government operations.
Legislation that would have abolished DeKalb's CEO failed to pass in the Georgia General Assembly this year. A separate bill creating a state-mandated charter review panel also fell short, leading May to form the Charter Review Commission on his own.
“It is important that we establish a platform for the citizens of DeKalb County to engage in a deliberate discussion related to the county’s governance structure,” May said in a statement.
The Charter Review Commission will meet for the first time from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Maloof Auditorium in Decatur.
The commission is required to submit its recommendations by June 30, 2017.
Members of the commission were appointed by May, DeKalb commissioners, state senators and community organizations.
They are Rahn Mayo, Ann Hanlon, Robert Miller, Dean Vanderbilt, Bobbie Sanford, Stan Pritchett, Kathy Register, Jim Grubiak, Jerome Edmondson, Delores Crowell, Melvin Johnson, Michele NeSmith, John Ernst, Carla Smith and Naomi Godfrey. The DeKalb House delegation hasn’t yet appointed its representative to the commission.
