The Decatur City Commission

Five City Commissioners are elected in nonpartisan elections for overlapping four-year terms. Each January, Commissioners elect two of their fellow members to serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

Meet the Commissioners

	Bill Floyd Mayor District 1 Commissioner First elected November 1991 Term expires 2011 email Bill Floyd is an active member of the Decatur First United Methodist Church and the former chair of the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center Board. A graduate of Auburn University, he is president of W F Floyd Construction, Inc., specializing in water and waste water systems.
	Jim Baskett Mayor Pro Tem At-Large Commissioner First elected November 1995 Term expires 2011 email Jim Baskett formerly served as the chair of the DeKalb County Library System Board of Trustees. On the commission he has served as liaison to task forces working on greenspace and the redevelopment of the Scottish Rite Hospital. After graduating from The Candler School of Theology, he studied social ethics and political thought at Emory University. Jim and his wife, Mickey, live in the historic South Candler district and own their own publication firm.
	Fred Boykin District 1 Elected November 2001 Term expires 2013 email Fred Boykin has been a Decatur homeowner since 1978. He is a past president of the Decatur Business Association and has also served on the Decatur Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. A graduate of Emory University, he is the owner of Bicycle South, Inc., a Decatur-area business since 1972.
	Kecia Cunningham District 2 First elected November 1999 Term expires 2011 email A resident of Decatur for more than a decade, Kecia is active with numerous community groups and serves on the boards of the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center and CHRIS Homes. She is a member of Leadership Atlanta's Class of 2004 and the 2004 class of the Regional Leadership Institute. Her awards include the 2002 Human Rights Campaign Community Leadership award, 2002 Who's Who in Black Atlanta, and Agnes Scott College's Outstanding Young Alumna.   Kecia is an associate member of the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. She is president for District 3 of the Georgia Municipal Association and serves on the organization's Legislative Policy Committee and Board of Directors.   She is employed by Sun Trust.
	Patti Garrett District 2 Elected November 2009 Term expires 2013 email Patti Garrett has been active in the community since moving to Decatur in 2001. She has served as chair of the Decatur Tour of Homes committee, house captain on the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project, a board member of the Oakhurst Community Garden, and as secretary of the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association. She attends Decatur First United Methodist Church and has served on its board of trustees. A graduate of Texas Christian University and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Patti teaches nutrition at Georgia State University.

 

Duties of the Commissioners
The City Commissioners determine the policies of the City and enact the local laws necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. They provide leadership in identifying community needs and developing programs to meet community objectives. They oversee the delivery of services to citizens and are responsible for adoption of an annual budget and the levying of taxes necessary to finance local government operations.

The City Commissioners appoint the members of a number of boards and commissions who carry out responsibilities specified by state law, the City charter, and local ordinances, including the Decatur Housing Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, Decatur Parking Authority, Downtown Development Authority, Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Greenspace Commission and Waste Management Advisory Board.

The City Commission appoints Municipal Court Judges and the City Attorney. The four judges are Edward E. Carriere, Jr., Viviane Ernestes, Robert Leitch, and Rhathelia Stroud. The City Attorney is Bryan Downs.

Day-to-day operations of the City's various departments and implementation of policies established by the City Commission are the responsibility of the City Manager, a professional administrator appointed by the City Commission.