Government services
Provided by counties: Courts, health and human services, tax commissioner, property tax appraisal, sheriff, elections, disaster management
Provided by cities or counties: Police, fire, trash, water, libraries, public transportation, hospitals, public housing, parks
DeKalb County has begun reviewing the effectiveness of its government and studying the creation of more new cities, an effort that could result in an overhaul of the county’s structure.
A group of 17 elected officials and community members met for the first time Thursday to evaluate how to solve the county’s problems, with a goal of proposing fixes before the state Legislature meets again next year.
Possibilities suggested by Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May, who formed the task force, include dividing all of the county into cities and abolishing its unique chief executive position. With five state legislators as members, the group’s recommendations could become reality if passed into state law.
At least three cities — Briarcliff, Lakeside and Tucker — already have been proposed in DeKalb, and the formation of other new cities has reduced the amount of tax money that goes toward the county of more than 700,000 people.
“Much of the reaction toward incorporation is trying to bring governance closer to citizens,” said Vaughn Irons, chairman of the Development Authority of DeKalb County. “If we can create a governance structure that allows everyone to feel included, we can go forward as one DeKalb.”
That’s easier said than done.
Several residents attending the Task Force on DeKalb County Operations meeting doubted whether the county had the ability to improve services to its residents without cities stepping in.
“Our roads are littered with potholes. I have to get my car re-aligned regularly just to drive down my street,” said Linda Edmonds, who supports the creation of the city of Lakeside. “The county is overwhelmed. It can’t provide the level of service we need. We need cities to return local control.”
Others said additional cities aren’t the answer, but they also doubted the county could change quickly enough to make a difference.
“I have no vision of anything coming out of this task force,” said Charles Peagler, a south DeKalb resident. “We need an economic task force in DeKalb County. We need to talk about growth in DeKalb and stop creating new cities.”
Avondale Estates Mayor Ed Rieker said he was concerned that the group reviewing DeKalb’s government doesn’t include representatives from any of its 10 cities.
“Municipalities are the ones providing those local services now, so we’re a great resource for information on how to apply that,” he said. “Without that information, I think it will be a repeat of the desire from the county not to have new cities.”
Besides dealing with cityhood, DeKalb County’s government is overshadowed by criminal charges against its previous CEO, Burrell Ellis. He faces trial in September on allegations that he illegally pressured contractors into giving him campaign contributions.
The government overhaul group will also consider government transparency, equitable distribution of sales tax money and legacy pension costs. It plans to meet about three times a month through the end of the year.
“What we want to come up with are real strong recommendations that can outlive all of us,” May said.
About the Author
