DeKalb County executive committee schedules closed interviews; board members to be allowed to observe initial interviews via Zoom

Human resources told the DeKalb County Board that the county received 59 applications for the county administrator position and laid out a schedule for committee review and first-round interviews. The executive committee will hold a special session to narrow candidates, move into closed session for personnel discussion and likely begin first-round interviews during the week of May 5.

Tim Newberg, the county’s human resources manager, said the 60-day application period closed on Monday, April 14 and 59 candidate materials were received. He told the board a special meeting of the executive committee was scheduled for Tuesday, April 22 at 6 p.m.; that meeting will be open for public comment and then move into closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees. Newberg said first-round interviews were likely to take place during the week of May 5.

Board members debated whether county board members who are not on the executive committee should be permitted to observe parts of the process remotely. Several members said they found observing prior-round interviews helpful as nonvoting members and recommended allowing noncommittee board members to watch the initial interviews by Zoom, so long as they did not participate in deliberations. “I felt that it was really prudent for us to be able to have that knowledge and really get a good feel for what was out there and available to us,” one board member said of having observed prior interviews.

Other members emphasized safeguards for confidentiality and candidate privacy during closed sessions. County counsel and several board members said final deliberations and executive-session discussions should remain restricted to the executive committee in a physical space to protect applicants’ privacy and to comply with closed-session rules. Legal concerns included ensuring that closed-session participant lists and meeting processes complied with the Open Meetings Act and that remote access not permit participation in confidential deliberations.

The board settled on a hybrid approach: the executive committee will hold the preparatory meeting in person and move into a closed session for internal deliberations; first-round interviews will permit noncommittee board members to observe by Zoom in a view-only capacity similar to the county’s prior practice for initial interview rounds. Members who observed in the past said the format helped them better understand finalists and the county’s options without altering the committee’s decision-making authority.

No final appointment was made at the meeting; the process will continue through the scheduled special meeting and first-round interviews, with the executive committee returning recommendations to the full board following candidate evaluation.