A New Year and New Challenges Await DeKalb Citizens

As we turn the page toward yet another year on the calendar, I will be entering my 15^th year as your representative on the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners.  Looking forward, I am optimistic on some very interesting situations which will greatly improve our local government.

            These challenges mount because of the tremendous power shift in recent years that has refocused the role of government in DeKalb to more of an activist body.  Also, despite my opposition, the CEO and Commission have taxed more and expanded the role of government more than it should.  OUR COUNTY HAS GROWN BY 200 MILLION DOLLARS IN THE LAST SIX YEARS – not including the over 300 million dollars in bonds implemented by this administration as well!  A very alarming rate, to say the least.

            Nothing is more evident of this problem than the SUPPORT on both sides of the political aisle for a change in the county’s CEO form of government – a form of government found only in DeKalb County, out of Georgia’s 159 counties!

            This past summer and fall, a state Senate study committee chaired by Sen Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) examined the issues surrounding this current form of government in which so much power is focused in the CEO’s office.  What we have in DeKalb is analogous to the President running Congress.  The executive branch controls the legislative branch.  There aren’t enough checks and balances to provide a healthy oversight of what goes on in DeKalb government.

            Without checks and balances, taxpayers lose, as is evident with the rampant rise in property taxes – a $600 million increase in six years – and the ever-expanding size of county government which has accompanied it.

            During these legislative hearings, which covered topics from zonings to potential incorporations and redistricting of commission districts, one thing was apparent:  something has to change.  The late Commissioner Bill Brown’s infamous February 2004 white paper was discussed during these meetings.  He was obviously a visionary when he wrote “The structure of DeKalb County’s current budget management system is reminiscent of a banana republic government – stupendous government power without a credible system of checks and balances.”

            DeKalb commissioners are elected to set broad policy, yet we have no direct access to county staff to conduct research or respond to constituent needs.  After the budget is adopted each January, we cannot track how county funds are spent.  And that’s only one example of the great imbalance of power.

            My wish for the New Year is that the General Assembly will finally muster the courage to give DeKalb the changes it needs to bring accountability and transparency to its form of government by:

§         Allowing commissioners to set their own agenda.  President Bush can’t set the agenda that Congress takes up, and neither should the CEO declare what legislation the commission can adopt.

§         Allow a commissioner, not the CEO, to preside at meetings.  Again, the executive branch is there to manage the day to day operations of the county, not supervise the policymakers – the county commission.

§         Decline the calls to grow the size of government by increasing the number of commissioners.  It’s critical to have no more than two commissioners representing an area, particularly when it comes to zonings, and the district commissioners and super district commissioners currently play a vital role.  Increasing the number of commissioners and dividing up the districts to smaller districts will actually hurt constituent representation.

DeKalb’s system of government needs changes to provide more of a balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.  Hopefully the General Assembly will see that some fine tuning will be an experiment worth conducting.