coMMUNITY
Residents, officials debate eliminating DeKalb CEO post BY JOE EARLE
joeearle@reporternewspapers.net
DeKalb County’s interim CEO gathered a group of north DeKalb residents and public officials recently to debate whether the county should get rid of his job. Interim CEO Lee May said the Nov. 21 discussion was the first of several he planned to hold in locations across DeKalb to debate whether the county should rethink its CEO form of government. “Whether it’s to change or not to change, we have to open this dialogue,” said May, who has said publicly he thinks the county should change its form of government to eliminate the CEO post. But he said discussions like the one in Dunwoody were “not about Lee May’s position. It’s about a public dialogue about what’s best for our county.” May held a seat on the DeKalb County Commission before his appointment in July to replace suspended CEO Burrell Ellis, who faces trial on corruption charges. Ellis has denied doing anything wrong. Ellis’ predecessor, former CEO Vernon Jones, angered many residents in the northern end of the county through his actions in office. On Nov. 21, more than 80 people, including state lawmakers and city
council members from both Brookhaven and Dunwoody, took part in discussions at Dunwoody High School about whether the county’s form of government should change and, if so, what it should be. Brookhaven City Councilman Jim Eyre welcomed the discussion. “I think [May] has a conviction that something needs to happen,” Eyre said. “He’s clearly not just jumping into it. He’s trying to find the best route and involving as many as he can.” May told the group that the county was “working to do some very substantive things to fix some things that have been broken.” May said he had researched the background of the CEO form of government and planned to post online the county documents related to the change to the CEO form in the 1970s. When the DeKalb County Commission changed from a chairman-commission form of government to the CEO form, he said, the decision was not made lightly. “There was a robust dialogue then,” he said. Several people attending the Dunwoody meeting questioned whether
Joe eArle
Left, deKalb Interim cEo Lee May introduces a public discussion at dunwoody High School Nov. 21 on whether the county should eliminate the cEo job. Right, Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven), standing, chats with dunwoody city councilman denny Shortal, seated at left.
the role of the county needs to change again as cities such as Dunwoody and Brookhaven are created to deliver services once provided by the county government. Movements to create more new cities have begun in several DeKalb communities. “There’s no perfect system,” Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) said during a break from the discussions. “Most people think of the Cobb or Gwinnett model, but they’ve had their problems, too.” State lawmakers said DeKalb’s form of government could be debated by the
county’s legislative delegation next year. “I don’t look for anything in the near future because we’re not sure what we really want,” Millar said. But May said his plan was to get the discussion going so DeKalb residents can look over options. “What people really want is better outcomes,” May told the group. “You want a better government. You want a government that is responsive to your needs. Whether you are on the side of change or the side of staying the same, people want better outcomes.”
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