CopyCited 42 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 13, 2020 | 308 Ga. 265
...I, precludes county governing
authorities from having the power to increase their own pay.
Williams also argues that, even if the General Assembly can
statutorily delegate the power to county governing authorities to
increase their own pay, see OCGA §
36-5-24, the salary ordinance is
still invalid because the commissioners did not follow the statute’s
guidelines and because the statute’s guidelines were insufficient to
prevent a conflict of interest....
...al organ of the county, and
place an advertisement giving statutorily required notice of the
intent to increase the salaries of the governing authority.4 The
Board’s attorney arranged for the notice to be published on three
4 See OCGA §
36-5-24 (b) (2) (“A county governing authority shall take
no action to increase salary, compensation, expenses, or expenses in the nature
of compensation until notice of intent to take such action and the fiscal impact
of such action has been p...
...intent to pass the pay increase, thus invalidating the increase and
subjecting the commissioners to civil and criminal penalties. He also
claimed that, even though the General Assembly had given county
governing authorities the power to increase their members’ pay
through OCGA §
36-5-24 (b), the Georgia Constitution and the
DeKalb County Organizational Act precluded the commissioners
from having the power to increase their pay....
...ordinance, he suffered no “particularized injury” nor were his
“individual rights” implicated. The court held that the General
Assembly did not violate the DeKalb County Organizational Act or
the Georgia Constitution when it gave county governing authorities,
through OCGA §
36-5-24, the power to increase their members’ pay.
Finally, the court found that the commissioners followed the
procedures set forth in OCGA §
36-5-24 when passing the ordinance
increasing their salaries.
With respect to Williams’ claims under the Open Meetings Act,
the court held that the commissioners are not subject to liability for
complaint, a certified copy of the or...
...111, 112 (728
SE2d 184) (2012).
3. Salary Ordinance Claims. Williams averred in his second
amended complaint that the members of the DeKalb County
governing authority acted unlawfully in passing the salary
ordinance,8 asserting that OCGA §
36-5-24,9 which delegates the
power to county governing authorities to increase their members’
pay, is unconstitutional. In the alternative, Williams contends that
the commissioners failed to comply with the requirements of OCGA
§
36-5-24 when passing the ordinance....
...part, that “[u]nless otherwise
provided by local law, the governing authority of each county is authorized to
fix the salary, compensation, expenses, and expenses in the nature of
compensation of the members of the governing authority[.]” OCGA §
36-5-24
(b). The remaining provisions of the statute either define terms used in the
statute or set forth rules applicable to actions taken pursuant to the statute.
See OCGA §
36-5-24 (a), (c).
immunity barred Williams’ claims against the commissioners or the
Chief Executive Officer in their individual capacities, it still
dismissed these claims, ruling that Williams lacked standing to
bring claims for prospective declaratory or injunctive relief based on
the alleged unconstitutionality of OCGA §
36-5-24.10 “A plaintiff
must demonstrate standing separately for each form of relief
sought.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Center for a
Sustainable Coast v....
...468, 470 (1) (813 SE2d 388) (2018).
(a) Declaratory relief. Williams’ mere status as a citizen or
taxpayer11 is insufficient to confer standing to seek relief under
10 The trial court also addressed the merits of Williams’ claim and held
OCGA §
36-5-24 to be constitutional and the actions of the members of the
county governing authority to be in conformity with the statute....
...omitted)). But, with
respect to his claims challenging the legality of the salary ordinance,
Williams does not seek to enforce a public duty conferred by statute.
Rather, he seeks to block the enforcement of an ordinance passed
pursuant to OCGA §
36-5-24....
