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Time to end DeKalb 'dictatorship' |
| Dec 22, 2004 |
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But if DeKalb County's CEO form of government were a prototype for good governance, we certainly would see other counties moving to adopt the model.
Almost 20 years after the change from a chairman to a CEO system, the time is long overdue to start a serious evaluation of whether this concept is what's best for DeKalb taxpayers.
Several members of DeKalb's legislative delegation are responding to the concerns of commissioners, residents and two recent grand juries who've said that too much power is vested in one elected official. Legislation will be introduced during the 2005 legislative session to create more checks and balances over the CEO, such as allowing commissioners to run their own meetings.
DeKalb voters approved a CEO form of government in 1985 when the late Manuel Maloof, a man with a strong personality, was running the county.
DeKalb's system is vastly different from other counties because the CEO has complete control of the budget, county personnel, legal operations and day-to-day operations.
The CEO also presides at commission meetings where policy is set. The CEO is charged with carrying out those policies but can choose to ignore them. In addition, commissioners don't have authority over county staff for constituent concerns as simple as late garbage pickup, stray animals or traffic signal problems.
Commissioners need an auditor and a line-item review of budget expenditures so that we would be able to find hidden spending such as the use of police as a full-time security detail for the CEO.
The late Bill Brown, a commissioner who represented south DeKalb in the 1990s, wrote a policy paper on this very issue this year. He called the DeKalb CEO form of government a "dictator/czarist model."
Brown, a Democrat, added: "It places the commissioners at the benevolent mercy of the CEO and the staff he/she commands."
Considering my history with DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones and our vast philosophical differences, it would be easy to dismiss my support of this change as political. But several years ago, six commissioners (including myself) brought this to the attention of the DeKalb legislative delegation when Liane Levetan was CEO. We asked for similar adjustments back then.
President Bush doesn't preside over Congress or set its legislative agenda. The American people would never stand for a system where the chief executive has that much power. DeKalb taxpayers believe in separate branches of government as well. A new Legislature should help make that happen.
Elaine Boyer, a Republican, represents District 1 on the DeKalb County Commission. |
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