DECATUR, Ga. — Voters are coming off of a series of runoff races across the metro Atlanta area and the rest of the state.
In a recent meeting, the Decatur City Commission voted to take another step toward adding another election item to voters’ ballots in 2027: who will be the Decatur mayor?
Currently, the mayor is chosen from among the members of the commission, all elected positions.
"The Decatur Charter Review Commission is considering whether to change how the mayor is selected. Since the 1920s, the City Commission has chosen one of its members annually to serve as mayor. Most Georgia cities with a council–manager system elect their mayor directly by the voters for a four-year term," according to city documents.
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As of a Monday vote, the commission is moving forward with plans to put the position of mayor in residents’ hands.
According to the proposed ordinance, the mayor’s district would take the place of the at-large commissioner’s district, putting the decision on ballots in November 2027.
Now passed by the city commission, a resolution to finalize the selection process is to be included on the Dec. 15 meeting agenda, where a second vote is needed to change the city charter, and the election process.
During the discussion of the measure during Monday’s commission meeting, city leaders said they needed to examine how to budget for the position.
One commissioner said that if the mayor becomes an elected position, it would likely need to be switched to a full-time paid position, as the current salary for mayor was below the city’s poverty line.
Commissioners also discussed the salary requirements would need to make it so any resident of Decatur qualified to run would be able to afford living in the city, and that not doing so could turn the mayor’s office into a position of privilege rather than service.
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