Two DeKalb County commissioners were recently asked to pay personal debts through their government salaries, according to Channel 2 Action News.

The county's payroll office received a request Feb. 4 to garnish $157,238 from Commissioner Stan Watson. The money is being sought by two women who won a $150,500 verdict against Watson last year after he falsely accused them of stealing his wallet.

Watson declined to comment to Channel 2.

In a separate case, the IRS gave notice of a levy on Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton’s salary in early February, and then the IRS released the levy Feb. 10. An IRS levy allows the government to seize property to satisfy a tax debt. Tax documents don’t say how much money was owed to the IRS.

Sutton said the levy was cleared after a “miscommunication of a document.”

“I contacted my attorney who contacted the IRS, and the issue was resolved,” she wrote in a statement to Channel 2. “This was a minor issue that was swiftly and easily resolved.”

DeKalb commissioners are paid salaries of about $40,000 a year.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com