DeKalb on track to hire a watchdog

DeKalb is moving closer to hiring a watchdog over the county government's finances.

Five county residents have been appointed to serve on an oversight committee that will review candidates to serve as an independent internal auditor.

Once hired, the internal auditor will be responsible for finding fraud, reducing inefficiencies and exposing waste, according to House Bill 599.

The Audit Oversight Committee will nominate between two and three candidates to serve as the auditor. If the DeKalb Commission doesn't appoint one of those candidates within 30 days, the committee will choose the auditor.

The auditor will report to the committee as a way to maintain the position’s independence from the rest of the county’s government. The members of the Audit Oversight Committee were selected by the DeKalb Commission, Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May and DeKalb’s delegation to the Georgia General Assembly.

The committee was selected by Oct. 31, as required by HB599:

• Harmel Deanne Codi, the Senate's nominee, has worked as a senior financial officer in the DeKalb Community Development Department and as an auditor for GE Finance.
• Gena Major, May's nominee, is the director of continuous improvement for the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority.
• Monica Miles, the House's nominee, is the president of MH Miles Company, a certified public accounting firm with offices in Georgia, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
• Belinda Pedroso, a commission nominee, is the senior auditor for the University System of Georgia's Office of Internal Audit and Compliance.
• Harold Smith Jr., a commission nominee, is a retired auditor for the Georgia Department of Labor and Lucent Technologies.