Charter committee backs making Clarke County mayor a full-time post and raises pay

The Clarke County Charter Compensation Ad Hoc Committee voted Friday to ask the county attorney's office to draft a legally defensible plan to make the mayor a full-time position and adjust elected officials' pay.

Commissioner Carol Myers moved, with amendments, to direct the Attorney's Office to prepare the implementing language. The motion, seconded by Commissioner Ovita Thornton, included specific recommendations: designate the mayor's position as full time in the charter; adjust compensation for both the mayor and the mayor pro tempore; set the mayor's base pay at three times that of a commissioner; provide a $5,000 annual supplement for the mayor pro tempore; and allow the mayor and all commissioners to opt into the Management Pension Program. The motion also called for a clear description of the mayor pro tempore's role and duties. The committee approved the motion unanimously.

Mayor Kelly Girtz, committee chair, opened the Feb. 13 meeting and framed the committee's charge to compare Clarke County's charter provisions with those of unified governments in Georgia with populations over 105,000. The committee's recommendation is to be presented to the full governing body, and the Attorney's Office was asked to craft the most legally defensible method to implement the proposal, the committee said.

A separate, procedural motion to adjourn was made by Former Commissioner Russell Edwards, seconded by Commissioner Thornton, and carried; the meeting adjourned at 9:48 a.m.

Next steps: the Attorney's Office will draft proposed implementing language and the committee will forward its recommendation to the full body for consideration.