The DeKalb County Board of Ethics is moving toward hiring an executive director responsible for fielding tips about unethical behavior, training government employees and bringing concerns to the board.

The board voted 3-2 last week to request proposals from search firms to seek out an executive director, with a salary range between $100,000 and $150,000. Search firms typically charge about 30 percent of the position's base salary.

The executive director position would be similar to the integrity officer job proposed by Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May in June. The executive director would answer directly to the Board of Ethics.

Funding for the executive director post would come from the board's budget, which is $215,242 in May's 2015 budget proposal.

But Board of Ethics Chairman John Ernst said Monday he hopes the board's funding could increase to about $360,000 before the DeKalb Commission approves the county's budget in February.

Ernst said he believes commissioners will support the additional funding for the board to pay for the executive director role. The rest of the board's budget is spent on investigations and administration.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor and AJC Publisher Andrew Morse were joined by AJC editors and Atlanta business react during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Midtown on Friday, January 24, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo