DeKalb seeks state laws to revamp local government

DeKalb County's commissioners are sending state lawmakers a wish list of items they'd like to see approved in the 2016 legislative session, from reviewing the county's form of government to requiring more thorough vetting of cityhood proposals.

Some state legislators from DeKalb have been discussing the possibility of eliminating the county's unique CEO position, but the DeKalb Board of Commissioners requested a more deliberate approach.

The board voted Dec. 15 to endorse forming a charter review commission that would eventually recommend the appropriate government structure for the county, determine how to fill temporary vacancies on the commission and clarify the division of power between the CEO and commission. The charter review commission would be made up of 15 non-elected citizens and have a $150,000 budget funded by the county.

As for the creation of new cities, the DeKalb Commission wants the Georgia Legislature to enact stricter requirements before areas can incorporate.

Commissioners approved a resolution requesting that the state pass a law standardizing the cityhood process and mandating evaluations of how new incorporations would affect the county as a whole. In addition, the commission asked that all residents of a county be allowed to vote on a new city rather than only those who live within a city’s proposed boundaries.

Other initiatives that the DeKalb Commission asked the Georgia Legislature to review include:

• Requiring residents of newly created cities to continue contributing to the county's pension debts, a proposal included in House Bill 711.
• Providing funding for attorneys to prosecute and defend juvenile cases.
• Allowing citations for code violations to be tacked on a property's door, which would eliminate the current requirement for personal service in some cases.