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Charter review: DeKalb elections director says VTDs are technical; committee weighs age, residency and interim CEO language
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Summary
During charter review the DeKalb operations committee heard that voter tabulation districts (VTDs) are technical census products better hosted by county GIS or referenced in the charter, and asked the law department to clarify state limits on candidate age/residency and to draft clearer interim-CEO/vacancy language after prior suspension experience.
Elections Director Keisha Smith told DeKalbCountyoperations committee members on March 9 that voter tabulation districts (VTDs) are primarily a technical product of the census process and need not be typed into the county charter.
"They are very similar geographically to our precincts, but may differ," Director Smith said, explaining that VTD boundaries are a state and federal snapshot produced around decennial census work and that voters typically do not consult the charter to find polling locations. She recommended leaving detailed VTD tables out of the charter and instead referencing where the data is officially housed and maintained.
Several commissioners supported keeping a reference in the charter to a department that would maintain VTD and map data, and suggested that the county GIS office could host VTD/census-based maps for public access. One commissioner noted potential advocacy interest in boundary data and urged archiving the information in a county-accessible location rather than relying solely on state or federal repositories.
The committee also addressed candidate-qualification language that currently appears in the draft charter. A member referenced an April 2 memo from Deputy Welch and the law departmentnoting that state law (cited as OCGA 45-2-1 in committee discussion) may cap the maximum age and residency requirements the county can impose (12 months residency and a minimum age the law allows), and that any change above that ceiling likely would require action by the Georgia General Assembly. "We may have to talk to the General Assembly about this because we are looking at a potential necessary change," County Attorney Terry Phillips said, and the committee requested a written legal memo before deciding to change local age or residency requirements.
Committee members also reviewed eligibility criteria for the chief executive position. The existing draft charter lists a 30-year age requirement and five years residency; some members said they would be comfortable lowering the age to 25 but deferred a final decision until the law department confirms state limits and the Deputy Welch analysis is provided.
Finally, the law department presented redlined language intended to codify what occurred during a prior CEO suspension. The proposed provision would allow the presiding officer of the commission to exercise the powers and duties of the chief executive during a temporary vacancy caused by suspension, "beginning on the date this suspension occurs and ending with the unexpired term of the suspended chief executive until the office... is vacated by operation of law or the suspended chief executive is reinstated," the reading said. A number of commissioners warned that limiting the rule to "suspension" could leave the county without clear authority during extended absences for medical or other incapacitating conditions, and asked law staff to propose language that either sets a time threshold or is broad enough to cover incapacity and extended absence.
The committee asked law and central staff to return with the Deputy Welch memo, statutory citations and proposed redlines for the CEO vacancy language and candidate-qualification edits. No charter changes were adopted during the special call; the items will return for further review.
