Citizen effort led to DeKalb overhaul | www.myajc.com

With corruption scandals in DeKalb County making headlines, a group of concerned citizens gathered in a library last year to talk about what they could do.

They discussed the need for independent oversight of county operations. They wanted stronger ethics rules. They sought tighter controls on the spending of taxpayer money. Before long, the group brought together by Commissioner Kathie Gannon gained support from other residents, as well as elected officials and business leaders.

Their efforts paid off in the recent legislative session. State lawmakers passed bills last month that create a new position for a financial watchdog, reorganize the DeKalb Board of Ethics and institute stricter county purchasing rules.

“If the general citizenry hadn’t put pressure on their elected officials to do something, we know it couldn’t have happened,” said Gil Turman, a retired high school principal and a leader of the Blueprint DeKalb group that pushed for changes. “We had to come together to put things in place to make corrections to the wrongs that are taking place in this county.”

Blueprint DeKalb drew residents from across the county to the Decatur Library when it first met in February 2014. Residents broke into groups to focus on areas where they believed the county needed improvements. Then they did research and wrote position papers on each topic over the next few months.

via Citizen effort led to DeKalb overhaul | www.myajc.com.