Politics
Politics

DeKalb Commission releases money for ethics investigations

By Mark Niesse
Sept 23, 2014

The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to release $97,000 in funding for the county Board of Ethics, which is handling a heavy caseload of complaints against elected officials.

The money will supplement the Board of Ethics’ $118,000 annual budget, and the funds will be used for investigations, legal counsel and administrative support.

The additional funding had been appropriated in the county's mid-year budget, but the Commission withheld the money until the Board of Ethics made a proposal for how it would be spent.

The Commission voted 4-0 to release the money, and Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton didn’t cast a vote because she wanted further review of the proposal in committee.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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