The common thread through the two of the three AJC articles on last night’s DeKalb County Commission meeting?  No new taxes!

Though MARTA is a stated top goal for the commission this year, and they support the proposed 10-county penny tax for the struggling public transportation system, they can’t currently get behind the bill because it asks Fulton and DeKalb to put up a second penny in sales tax.

CEO Burrell Ellis explains…

“We’ve got other pressing needs in our infrastructure and don’t want to be saddled with another penny,” Ellis told legislators.

That money is needed for roads, public safety, parks and other county services, he said.

And if the state were to impose the extra penny, commissioners stated they were ready to ask for a referendum to rescind the current penny tax.

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The AJC gives DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis high marks for his first year on the job, noting a long list of housekeeping-ish accomplishments, such as consolidating public safety, naming permanent heads of departments, cutting costs, and firing the county’s telecommuting police chief.

And while Ellis certainly seems more the pragmatist and less the politician than his maddening predecessor, there must be some more valid critiques than the ones dug up by the AJC driving around DeKalb and polling people on the street. (Seriously, that’s what the article says.  I can’t help but imagine the exchange going something like this… “Hey!  Excuse me!  What do you think of your CEO Burrell Ellis?!  Forget it, the light is changing!  Thanks anyway!”)

Now that Ellis has proven himself a capable and less divisive leader than Vernon Jones, what County issues would you like to see addressed by his administration in 2010?

DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis revealed his 2010 budget yesterday, which proposes an 11% increase in property taxes and cutting nearly 760 jobs.  From the AJC…

Ellis would reduce the spending side of the ledger by about $30 million. He wants do this by eliminating 360 ghost jobs that have been unfilled but remain on the books; and by offering early retirement. His budget is predicated on 400 employees taking the offer.  The proposal would allow staff to retire without penalty before the minimum age of 50 if they have worked at least 25 years for the county.

“We have no choice but to have a reduction in our work force,” Ellis said.

The Decatur/DeKalb tax gap continues to close.

Sounds like more budget cuts and higher taxes coming from DeKalb County.  From the AJC…

In February 2008, the county adopted a $635 million budget. This year it’s lower by $29 million. And county finance officials have been projecting a gap of around $50 million between expected revenue next year and the current level of spending.

To close that gap, the county can cut spending and raise property taxes. [CEO Burrell] Ellis said both options were on the table as he was considering the final draft of his plan last week. He said he was aiming for a budget of between $575 million and $580 million — a decrease of about $25 million to $30 million from the current budget. “Without a millage adjustment, it would fall further than that,” he said.

Ellis is scheduled to release next year’s budget tomorrow.

Decatur PD’s Juanchella Francis forwards a note from Dan Reuter at ARC about a Wednesday, December 2nd Atlanta Regional Housing Forum at Decatur’s Maloof Auditorium.  According to Dan’s note, it’s only the second time the forum has ventured outside Atlanta in many eons.

Both Decatur’s Lyn Menne and DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis are scheduled to sit on panels that will try to predict the county’s housing future – “Housing Challenges – What to expect in 2010″ – and discuss “Housing’s Role in a Sustainable Future”.

To read more about this Wednesday morning forum and to register, click here.  The forum is free, though a canned food item for the Atlanta Community Food Bank is requested.

After voting Tuesday to adopt last year’s voter referendum for a considerably weaker CEO, the DeKalb Commission is already looking to scrap it.  According to an article in today’s AJC, a majority of DeKalb Commissioners are in favor of doing away with the CEO entirely and hiring a city manager to run day-to-day operations.

CEO Burrell Ellis, who favored the weakened CEO referendum last fall – even though he was running for job – doesn’t sound all that enthused on this latest development.  Ellis suggests that the commission may just be using this idea in order to gain leverage in a recent budget dispute.

I’m not sure I can come down definitively on either side of this particular issue.  I do believe that Ellis has made significant inroads to repair many of the charred bridges left by his predecessor.  On the other hand, with a city manager-style government, I might actually stand a chance of understanding the way decisions are made at the County level.

Right now I’m pretty sure the way it works is they all flip a coin, the North and South DeKalb contingents argue over whether it’s heads or tails, and then the CEO vetoes it. 

Kidding…love ya politics.  Love ya.

From Fox 5 Atlanta…

The firing of former DeKalb County Police Chief Terrell Bolton was upheld Monday. Bolton was fired following a FOX 5 I-Team investigation that found Bolton took 70 comp days during his first two years on the job.

DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis fired Bolton for insubordination, misuse of county property and acts unbecoming an officer.

What will DeKalb’s ex-telecommuting police chief do now?  Well according to the article, he still has an Equal Opportunity Commission complaint pending, so that should keep him busy for a bit longer.

Hats still off to CEO Burrell Ellis for working quickly to clean up this mess.

After DeKalb Parks & Rec failed to follow through with registering it’s kids for yet another tournament (this time for swimming), DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis decided he had enough.

The AJC had the details on this mishap yesterday and followed up this morning with details on the firing of Parks Director Marilyn Drew.  But why read the AJC summary when you can go straight to the horse’s mouth?  Thanks to a forward by William, here’s Burrell Ellis’ full release to the press.

Today I met with senior members of the DeKalb Parks and Recreation Department to determine what actions led to 67 DeKalb County swimmers being denied participation by the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) in the state swim meet scheduled for July 24 and 25, 2009, and to discuss and review all possible actions the county can undertake to appeal that decision by GRPA.

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Atlanta Unfiltered does some top-notch digging and turns up records that show embattled DeKalb Police Chief Terrell Bolton took 56 unapproved comp days between October 2007 and his “firing” by CEO Burrell Ellis earlier this year.

Nothing shows dedication to a community or a cause like unapproved days off!

Is being charged with insubordination, misuse of property, and conduct unbecoming an officer not enough to signal maybe its time to move on?  How about if you turn around and threaten to sue your employer in federal court? Can the boss/employee relationship ever really be the same after that?  (“Hey, remember that time when I sued you…that was HILARIOUS!”)

Fmr. DeKalb Police Chief Terrell Bolton seems to think so.