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DeKalb ops committee opens exhaustive review of county procedural rules; law department to advise
Summary
The DeKalb County Operations Committee reviewed a staff-produced spreadsheet of proposed edits to the county's standing procedural rules (the "Blue Book"), directed staff to submit the document to the law department, and agreed to return to the topic at future meetings to parse consensus changes.
Chair Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson opened the DeKalb County Operations Committee meeting and said the committee would begin a full review of the standing procedural rules, a package staff assembled into a two-page spreadsheet summarizing each section's original language and district comments. "I chair this committee," Johnson said as she introduced the agenda and confirmed committee membership.
John (staff), who presented the materials, said the spreadsheet lays out each section's original language and the districts' suggested changes and that "this document has been sent to the law department for their review." He told commissioners he plans to return with a plan for how the committee will work through the entire document at an upcoming meeting.
Commissioners debated how granular the review should be. Some members urged an exhaustive, line-by-line approach to resolve conflicting recommendations across districts; others urged focusing first on items where consensus already exists so the committee can make iterative changes more quickly. Commissioners specifically raised how the rules define and differentiate "working groups" from "special call meetings," and asked staff to coordinate with the law department on language that preserves chairs' intended flexibility while meeting legal requirements.
Johnson said staff will continue bringing sections back to committee meetings until the body reaches a vote on proposed Blue Book changes; she noted any final changes would require the board's five-vote majority. John agreed to redistribute the Excel file with a legend explaining the color-coding used to show proposed changes and new language so commissioners can review them before the next session.
Next steps: staff will submit the spreadsheet to the law department for review and return with a process proposal and redlines at a future operations committee meeting. The item will remain on the committee calendar until all substantive sections are resolved and the committee has prepared recommendations for the full Board of Commissioners.
