Ed Williams's Court Litigation Public Interest

Ed Williams is organizing this fundraiser.

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Dear Residents, Taxpayers, and Voters:

I need your help to cover the court costs to bring the DeKalb County government before the Georgia Supreme Court. I cannot do it alone. I have spent 4 years of my time working on this case and I need your support. There have been many who have expressed a desire to help, well here is your opportunity to donate and share this message. We have to show DeKalb County Government that citizens demand transparency and accountability.

The legal challenge involves the following:

● DeKalb Commissioners in 2018 violated the Georgia Constitution when they voted themselves a 60% Pay Raise
● DeKalb Commissioners in 2018 violated the Open Meeting Act by omitting the pay ordinance from the Agenda
● DeKalb Commissioners in 2018 violated the County Charter and state law when they increased their pay by 60%

I have to pay:

● Appeal Fee,
● Transcript Costs,
● Process Service Costs and Postage
● Notary and Certified Copies
● Copying and Printing Documents
● Research, and other litigation expenses

This case is about the DeKalb County governing authority and whether they have the constitutional authority to fix their own compensation. It is in the interest of every resident of DeKalb County and also the state of Georgia. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear my case. The 10-count Complaint was erroneously dismissed with prejudice by the DeKalb County Superior Court. I need your help to move this case forward. Please donate.

METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT and the issues of EQUITY

Thank You

Ed Williams
PO BOX 361626
Decatur, Georgia 30036
(678) [phone redacted]
[email redacted]

On August 28, 2018, a resident and taxpayer of DeKalb Ed Williams representing himself without an attorney filed suit in DeKalb Superior Court Against DeKalb County and the governing authority, the commission, and CEO.

Plaintiff Williams in his suit alleged that On February 27, 2018, the DeKalb Board of Commissioners approved themselves a 60 percent pay raise without proper notice and in violation of the Georgia Constitution. The Supreme Court heard the case on Oct 22, 2019, and the Supreme reversed the dismissal for further hearing in DeKalb Superior Court. om March 13, 2020. The was remitted on JUn22, 2000 where after a year of legal quarantine the case was dismissed with prejudice on May 20, 2021, similar to what happened it first hearing on January 10, 2019. IN DeKalb County, it appears that if you represent yourself that courts will side with the attorneys and the establishment even when you have won round one. It is clear that many attorneys think that citizens and taxpayers do not have standing to petition the courts when government officials act without authority unless they have experienced personally injured or harmed. This is important because not many cases have been able to survive the legal battle and would surrender to the big government and the government lawyers and taxpayer-funded private attorneys fighting against the citizen-taxpayer, who is outnumbered. This case is a David against Goliath.

The case is headed back to the Supreme Court for the second round in pursuit of justice. Plaintiff Williams alleged that the commission violated the Georgia Opening Meetings Act and that the CEO Michael Thurmond violated the Ga Constitution when he executed the compensation ordinance and appropriated/disbursed taxpayer money to increase the county governing authority salary by 60 percent in violation of Article 9, Section 2, Paragraph 1(b)(1) and 1(c)(2) provisions which prohibit county governing authority from fixing their own pay. The Georgia constitution provides only that the General Assembly has the authority to fix county governing authority salary. A county government is a political subdivision of the state. The General Assembly in 2001, passed a statute OCGA 36-5-24 that granted counties the power to fix their own compensation, However, the General Assembly under the constitution cannot delegate that authority to counties because the Georgia Constitution specifically prohibits counties from having that authority. The General Assembly cannot violate the constitution. Unlike municipalities, which city councils can fix their salaries to whatever they desire, county commissions do not have that same power under the Georgia Constitution.

In Georgia, citizen-taxpayers have standing to sue government officials in their personal capacities from acts which they do not have the legal authority to do particularly if it involves public revenue.

This case constitutional challenge could affect all 159 counties. See
Williams v DeKalb County 840 SE2d [phone redacted]

Notice of Appeal Case Appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court
60 percent pay increase unconstitutional
DeKalb Superior Court June 17, 2021 (Case # 18CV8645)
Williams v. DeKalb County et al., 18CV8645
Senior Judge Alford Dempsey Presiding