The movement to block the up to $65 million issuance of general obligation bonds for a proposed judicial center crossed a threshold last Monday morning, after the DeKalb County Election Commission certified 1,500 signatures of the more than 2,500 signatures presented on an opposition petition. With the verification, the ball is now kicked to the County Commission’s court, where it can move to put the referendum on a ballot, or take no action and simply let the bond resolution fail.

According to DeKalb Election Commission Administrator Dustin Estes, the county commission has until its August meeting to vote to put the issue on the November ballot. After that date, any referendum would cost $25,000 for a special election to be held on the issue. If no action is taken by the commission, the bond issuance would automatically fail and no bonds could be issued.

The DeKalb Election Commission presented DeKalb County Clerk Jimmy Poss with the petition verification during a meeting on Monday morning. Poss will inform the County Commission of the results.

The petition drive was formed after a county commission meeting where a vote was narrowly passed to approve the issuance of the bonds. The commission was deadlocked on the vote, 7–7, with County Mayor Matt Adcock breaking the tie.

At that same meeting, a 51-cent property tax increase for debt services was approved by the county commission for the 2024-25 budget. Again, the vote was deadlocked with Adcock breaking the tie. The tax increase was needed to secure the bonds, and the public was allowed 20 days to file a protest from the date of publication of the notice in the Smithville Review on Wednesday, June 26.

The certification letter reads as follows:

“The DeKalb County Election Commission received from the county clerk a petition protesting the issuance of General Obligation Bonds in the county.

“To call for referendum on the issuance of general obligation bonds requires a petition to be signed by ten percent or more of the registered voters of DeKalb County on the date DeKalb County published in the newspaper of general circulation the notice of the initial resolution adopted by the DeKalb County Commission. On June 26, 2024, the initial resolution appeared in the newspaper, and on that date, there were 13,607 registered voters in DeKalb County, 10 percent of such number is 1,361.

“Upon examination of the petition, the election commission staff has verified 1,500 valid signatures, a number which exceeds the minimum number of signatures needed to call for a county referendum on the question of whether general obligation bonds may be issued in DeKalb County.

“Therefore, on this 22nd day of July and 2024, we the undersigned members of the DeKalb County Election Commission certify to the DeKalb County Commission that the petition filed on July 15, 2024, contains a sufficient number of valid signatures of registered voters to authorize the DeKalb County Commission to call for a referendum on the question of whether general obligation bonds may be issued in DeKalb County.

“Before calling and setting an election date on the question of approving the issuance of general obligation bonds, the DeKalb County Election Commission will await the adoption of an election resolution by the DeKalb County Commission.”