A state senator didn't have the power to remove a member of DeKalb's new oversight committee, according to a legal opinion by Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens.
Olens' conclusion may settle a dispute over the DeKalb Audit Oversight Committee, which is responsible for hiring an independent watchdog over county government. The committee had stopped doing business until Olens delivered his opinion.
Olens wrote Friday that committee member Harmel Codi's appointment couldn't be rescinded by Sen. Gloria Butler, who tried to remove Codi because of concerns over her qualifications and her opposition to Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May.
Codi said Butler’s attempt to oust her was politically motivated.
“There’s a job to be done, and the earlier we get it done and get DeKalb County on the course of reform, the better it will be for the constituency of DeKalb County,” Codi said.
Olens weighed in on the dispute following requests from three senators representing DeKalb — Butler, D-Stone Mountain; Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta; and Sen. JaNice Van Ness, R-Conyers.
Butler initially appointed Codi, a former financial officer in DeKalb's Community Development Department, to the committee on Sept. 23. Butler rescinded Codi's appointment Dec. 28.
But Olens, citing state law, found that Butler's appointment of Codi was completed after Codi accepted the appointment. Olens also said committee members could only be removed for reasons detailed by House Bill 599, such as loss of DeKalb residency or conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude.
“It is my opinion that the appointment in question … may not be rescinded,” Olens wrote. “The incumbent may be removed from the position only through compliance with the established statutory procedures.”
The Georgia General Assembly created the DeKalb Audit Oversight Committee last year to bring accountability to government functions.
The committee will nominate candidates to become the county’s outside auditor, charged with finding fraud, reducing inefficiencies and exposing waste.
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