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DeKalb County is in dire straits.
First, there was the SACS decision
to place our school system on proba
tion. Next, we had the removal of
the school board, saving our children
from inept governance. That was fol
lowed by the indictment of CEO
Burrell Ellis. Then, he was ousted.
Most recently, a special grand jury
report showed us a disturbing pattern
of corruption that spans Burrell Ellis,
Vernon Jones and members of their
administrations.
Sadly, the hits seem to keep on
coming.
Gov. Nathan Deal made the final
decisions on removal of the school
board and Ellis. He did not choose
the unfortunate circumstances that
required these decisions to be made,
but he navigated them masterfully.
Our county is better for it.
Governor Deal installed Commis
sioner Lee May as interim CEO. May
wasted no time becoming the first of
the five individuals who have served
as CEO to call for the abolition of
the position. Our county is better for
that, too.
Out of the 159 counties in Geor
gia, DeKalb is the only one with a hy
brid CEO-commission form of gov
ernment. To say that our county’s
form of government is dysfunction
al would be an understatement. The
CEO holds most of the cards. The
commissioners hold very few.
Yet citizens expect their commis
sioners, each of whom represents at
least 138,000 people, to get things
done. In reality, it’s the CEO who
can make things happen with ease.
Apparently, our prior two CEOs have
seen fit to apply this vast power in fur
therance of their own self-interest.
Even if the County Commission
votes to award a contract to a ven
dor, the CEO can simply choose not
to sign the contract. That sort of pre
rogative goes to the heart of the crim
inal charges against Burrell Ellis.
The alternative is a commission-
manager form of government. The
county commission would hire a pro
fessional county manager who is re
sponsible and must be responsive to
the commission as a whole. Every
other metro Atlanta county has this
form of government. There is no po
litical CEO and the hubris this posi
tion has engendered.
The power to change DeKalb’s form
of government belongs to the Gener
al Assembly. In my nine years in the
House of Representatives, I’ve been a
consistent advocate for scrapping the
CEO form of government. There are
others who agree, but we don’t com
prise a majority of the members of
the House and Senate from DeKalb
County. That has been the impedi
ment.
Until now, that is. It should be
clear to all DeKalb legislators that a
majority of
our constit
uents, from
Dunwoody
to Lithonia
and Dru
id Hills
to Stone
Moun
tain, want
this change
to happen.
The short
comings of
Burrell Ellis
have placed
an exclamation point on the need for
change. And for the first time, we
have a CEO asking us to make the
change.
There is always the option to
make this change through sweeping
statewide legislation that abolishes
DeKalb’s unique form of government.
The substantive change is neces
sary, but I hope such a tactical move
— which would be initiated by north
DeKalb legislators — can be avoided.
The handwriting is on the wall.
Let’s hope other DeKalb legislators
can see it. I certainly do.
District 80 State Rep. Mike Jacobs
represents Brookhaven and portions of
Chamblee and Sandy Springs. He can
be reached at 404-530-7377 or repja-
cobs@gmail. com.
MIKE
JACOBS
GUEST COLUMNIST
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“We learned the hard lesson that we weren’t consid
ered a very desirable tenant.”
- Jed Beardsley on the search for a location for
Brookhavens City Hall.
“It doesn’t apply to homeowners the way it applies
to builders and developers. It’s the equivalent of passing
speeding laws and only applying it to trucks.”
- Resident Bill Harrison on Sandy Springs proposed
trees ordinance.
“There’s a significant part of Druid Hills that doesn’t
want any part of this.”
—Resident DavidArmstrong speaking out against Druid
Hills being included in the proposed City ofBriarcliff
“We get the bar bill, but we
don’t get a drink.”
-Atlanta City Councilmember
Yolanda Adrean about the effects
of developments on community
borders and lack of impact fees.
“I think you could sum it up
by saying there doesn’t seem to
be a preponderance of people saying they’re so con
cerned about this issue that it needs to be addressed
immediately.”
- Brookhaven resident Bill Roberts on the city’s
ongoing legal issues with the Pink Pony.
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10 | SEPT. 20 — OCT. 3, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
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