Nearly three years after its creation, the DeKalb County charter review commission has a chairman.
That means the 17-member body can finally begin its evaluation of the county’s unique local government — and, potentially, make sweeping recommendations for how it could be restructured to better serve residents.
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, who originally created the commission via a 2019 executive order, announced late Monday that he’d appointed State Court Judge Ronald B. Ramsey Sr. to be its leader. Ramsey is also a former state legislator and leader of DeKalb’s Senate delegation.
Thurmond’s long-awaited selection was delayed at least in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and comes amid new pressure from county commissioners who want to see work on the charter review begin in earnest.
“Judge Ramsey’s judicial and legislative experience will be invaluable as we continue reviewing the county charter to ensure that we are responsive to needs of current and future residents of DeKalb,” Thurmond said in a news release.
DeKalb’s is the only local government in Georgia with a CEO, an elected leader with significant administrative powers. The charter review commission is tasked with looking at the county’s government organizational act and recommending changes to “achieve the best delivery of services” to residents.
What approach the commission takes is yet to be seen, but that could include evaluating the position currently held by Thurmond — as well as the structure of the county’s Board of Commissioners, which has recently become a contentious topic.
The county commission — which has legislative powers and handles zoning and land use issues, among other things — has five district representatives plus a pair of “super district” commissioners.
Each of those commissioners represents half of the county. It’s believed to be the only such arrangement in the state.
In recent weeks, State Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, has used once-a-decade redistricting discussions to push for the elimination super districts. He has proposed that they and the county’s five other districts be redrawn to create seven smaller districts.
»See Jones’ proposed maps at the bottom of this article.
Such a change would require a public referendum. And while one opinion from the General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Counsel suggested that such a vote could not be held this year, Jones told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he received another saying he could move forward with a referendum if changes aren’t effective until 2023.
Some county commissioners and community advocates have said such a dramatic change would be better suited for consideration by the charter review commission.
The next meeting for that commission and its new chairman is scheduled for March 21.
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