Douglas County District Attorney David McDade has requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigate some payments made to the former .
Former Mayor Mickey Thompson is running for the seat, which now includes parts of Paulding County.
A Douglas County Sentinel story on June 10 reported that "some Douglasville elected officials may have received thousands of dollars for meetings that do not appear to qualify for payment under city statute."
According to the Sentinel, GBI officials were in Douglasville last week and reviewed meeting attendance sheets and records of payments. They also requested copies of documents.
In question are meetings that were held via teleconference and by electronic means because the ordinance states that the elected official must attend in person.
"Former Mayor Mickey Thompson had several meetings for which he was paid...that on the surface appear to not be allowable for compensation," the original Sentinel article reads.
"Council members with the most payments from submissions that do not appear to fit the statute criteria are Sam Davis and LaShun Burr Danley," the article said.
Currently the Mayor gets paid $313 per meeting and each City Council member gets paid $125 each, according to City Clerk Joyce Stone. The Mayor is also allowed $400 a month for expenses and each City Council member and the City Attorney are allowed $150 a month.
In a Douglasville Patch poll taken last week, 78 percent of Patch viewers said the mayor and council members should get paid either monthly or annually, instead of on a per meeting basis.
During last week's City Council meeting, City Manager Bill Osborne was directed to take a look at other cities and see how they compensate council members and the mayor. Mayor Harvey Persons said the report from Osborne is due in August and the City Council will make a decision at that time about what it is going to do in the future.
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