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.
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