Two DeKalb County commissioners were recently asked to pay personal debts through their government salaries, according to Channel 2 Action News.
The county's payroll office received a request Feb. 4 to garnish $157,238 from Commissioner Stan Watson. The money is being sought by two women who won a $150,500 verdict against Watson last year after he falsely accused them of stealing his wallet.
Watson declined to comment to Channel 2.
In a separate case, the IRS gave notice of a levy on Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton’s salary in early February, and then the IRS released the levy Feb. 10. An IRS levy allows the government to seize property to satisfy a tax debt. Tax documents don’t say how much money was owed to the IRS.
Sutton said the levy was cleared after a “miscommunication of a document.”
“I contacted my attorney who contacted the IRS, and the issue was resolved,” she wrote in a statement to Channel 2. “This was a minor issue that was swiftly and easily resolved.”
DeKalb commissioners are paid salaries of about $40,000 a year.
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