File photo of DeKalb County Commission. File Photo by: Dan Whisenhunt

This story has been updated. 

DeKalb County CEO Lee May is giving his State of the County speech tomorrow, and will propose moving the county’s administrative offices out of Decatur to a yet-to-be-named location along Memorial Drive.

County spokesperson Burke Brennan said the county seat, legally, will remain in Decatur and it’s likely that county judicial buildings will remain in the city.

“By definition, I do not believe we can move a courthouse because the courthouse must reside in the county seat and the county seat is in Decatur,” Brennan said.

The county administrative buildings occupy land off of Commerce Drive. Brennan said more details would be forthcoming in May’s speech.

Decatur Mayor Jim Baskett said the proposal is news to him.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it,” he said. “I don’t have a response until I hear what the CEO has to say.”

Decatur lists DeKalb as its largest employer, providing 1,200 jobs. It’s unclear how many employees would be affected by this development. But the move could be a boon for Decatur which is landlocked and looking for additional real estate for school facilities, due to increasing enrollment.

The city also recently purchased the Callaway Building on West Trinity, which will be developed as a mixed use project.

Decaturish is continuing to gather reactions from local officials about this news. Check back for updates.