Legislators representing DeKalb are calling for more study of the county's form of government before voters are asked to eliminate the CEO position.
The DeKalb delegation to the Georgia House of Representatives voted unanimously Monday to create a charter review commission that would evaluate the county's governmental structure. Proposals to replace the CEO with a professional county manager haven't moved forward in the House, but they're still pending.
Under Senate Bill 421, citizens would be appointed by various agencies to the charter review commission, which would work for more than a year before making recommendations by Oct. 1, 2017.
“To change how the county operated without looking at how it currently operates was putting the cart before the horse,” said Rep. Howard Mosby, D-Atlanta, the chairman of DeKalb’s delegation.
The legislation now returns to the Senate for further consideration.
The charter review commission would make suggestions that could include replacing or keeping the county CEO, which oversees the county’s executive branch. The commission also could review commission district boundaries, term limits and the balance of power.
“We’d like to really look at where we are now,” said Rep. Pam Stephenson, D-Decatur.
A measure to abolish the CEO, Senate Bill 378, previously passed the Senate and hasn't been acted on in the House.
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