Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens can breathe a sigh of relief after Georgia Senate lawmakers threw out a proposal that would have kick-started the process toward a referendum on the wealthy Buckhead neighborhood seceding from the city.
The measure failed by a 33-23 vote, with all Democrats opposing including 10 GOP senators.
The impending floor battle was brewing all week after a Senate committee voted the Buckhead cityhood measures out for the first time. Atlanta city council members, as well as Dickens’ administration, leapt into action coordinating with allies and lobbying senators that may have been on the fence.
Dickens’ work to repair the relationship between Republican state leadership and the Democrat-led city seemingly came to fruition when — in a move that shocked many Democrats — Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration penned a lengthy memo questioning the constitutionality of the bills.
But Dickens isn’t in the clear yet. The first-term mayor also recognizes Buckhead cityhood may be a battle he continually fights during his time in office.
“How we’ll defeat it in the future is how we’re defeating it now: through our actions,” he told us last week.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Community survey: Atlanta wants residents, businesses and visitors to take a brief survey and document safety concerns on an interactive map at ATLVisionZero.com. The city is gathering input on for its Vision Zero Action Plan, which will guide safety improvements and policies meant to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes on Atlanta’s roads.
The plan is slated for completion in October, and Atlanta City Council will consider the adoption of the final plan. More information on the plan will be provided at two virtual community workshops scheduled for 12 p.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Thursday. Details on how to join the meeting are on ATLVisionZero.com.
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Pothole Posse: Some of you recently asked us for an update on Atlanta’s “pothole posse,” a program first instituted under former Mayor Shirley Franklin to speed up pothole repairs. According to City Hall, over 10,600 potholes were filled last year because the city fixed an average of 40 potholes a day.
Residents can submit a pothole service request by calling 311, visiting the ATL 311 website, or notifying @ATL311 on Twitter with the pothole’s location. It will be inspected within five business days, and repaired in an additional five days.
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Procurement: Atlanta City Hall recently hosted its first-ever “doing business with the city” workshop in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of International & Immigrant Affairs, Atlanta Department of Procurement, Invest Atlanta, and the Business and Immigration for Georgia Partnership.
The event showcased how businesses and organizations can work directly with city government via bids for contracts, to become vendors, or to apply for business licenses. We’ll keep you posted on future dates for the city’s next procurement event.
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In case you missed it: An independent audit from the Mauldin & Jenkins accounting firm presented to City Hall revealed last month that $5 million of unearned revenue was identified on the Atlanta Department of Aviation’s balance sheet for the previous fiscal year of 2022. Doug Moses, a partner from Jenkins, said those funds were collected and recognized from fiscal year 2021, but the matter was corrected last June.
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