Nov. 3 is Election Day in Georgia.
DeKalb County has two highly contested issues on the ballot this year that voters will weigh in on. Do you know what they are?
Don't know where to vote? Find your polling precinct in DeKalb County here.
See all the 2015 Election Day results here.
1. Proposed changes to the DeKalb Board of Ethics
The question looks like this on the ballot: Shall the Act be approved which revises the Board of Ethics for DeKalb County?
If a majority of people vote yes, the approved measure would take away the ethics board's power to remove or suspend elected officials from office, according to an analysis by the AJC.
Board of Ethics Chairwoman Clara Black DeLay opposes the measure, saying that it allows for anonymous complaints, which could result in politically motivated allegations.
Former Board of Ethics member Patricia Killingsworth advocates for the overhaul, saying “you need to have stages of punishment that are appropriate."
2. Incorporating LaVista Hills and Tucker
The question looks like this on the ballot: "Shall the Act incorporating the City of LaVista Hills/City of Tucker in DeKalb County according to the charter contained in the Act and the homestead exemptions described in the Act be approved?"
The city of LaVista Hills, located mostly inside the Perimeter, would include more than 67,000 residents in six districts.
The city of Tucker, reaching east from Interstate 285, would cover more than 33,000 residents in three districts, with two council members elected from each district.
If both measures were approved, here is what LaVista Hills and Tucker would look like:
- LaVista Hills would offer a full-service government, with police, road, zoning, permitting and park services.
- Tucker would start with a much smaller government controlling planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks.
- Both cities would continue to rely on DeKalb for most of their local government, including water, sewer, court, sheriff, library and many other services.
- Tucker also would keep DeKalb police officers and pay for them through county property taxes instead of starting its own department.
Here are the precincts for LaVista Hills and Tucker.
Ben Shackleford, a resident, backs incorporating LaVista Hills, saying “DeKalb County isn’t adequately meeting the needs of all its citizenry. There’s going to be a better opportunity for representation.”
Marjorie Snook, the president of DeKalb Strong, a group against the creation of new cities, says, “When governments are spending more money, it’s coming from taxpayers. You don’t solve political problems by adding more politicians. What adding new politicians to this area does is increase the chances for cronyism and corruption.”
Read more about the proposed cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker.
