DeKalb Board of Ethics Referendum

For the second year in a row, DeKalb County is holding a referendum on whether or not the county should reshape ethics oversight in their local government. The referendum in 2019 was unsuccessful and controversial, but this year’s proposal includes changes that have addressed most citizen concerns.

• If voters approve the measure Nov. 3, DeKalb’s ethics board would be revived by the start of 2021.
• One of the major changes includes altering how board members are appointed. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the use of private and non-elected entities to appoint members to DeKalb’s ethics board was unconstitutional; the decision impacted four of the board’s seven members, limiting its ability to consider cases and effectively leaving the panel without a quorum. The new referendum would give three appointments to DeKalb’s state House delegation, three appointments to the county’s representatives in the state Senate, and one appointment to the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner.
• Another major change adds a new “ethics administrator” position, which would be in charge of collecting and documenting all complaints before passing them along to the ethics board.
• This new referendum would also prohibit the board from accepting gifts.