Atlanta City Council Authorizes Funding to Purchase Atlanta Fire Rescue Department Apparatus
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday to authorize executing a master lease agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank to provide for the City’s acquisition of replacement equipment and vehicles for the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department in an amount not to exceed $19 million. This item was an immediate consideration and sent to the mayor’s office post-haste.
Other items approved include:
• A resolution requesting Invest Atlanta authorize Tax Allocation District funding at $8.7 million for Atlanta Fire Rescue Department’s emergency fleet replacement purchases to include fire engines, battalion chief vehicles, and heavy apparatus (23-R-4261).
• A resolution establishing the City of Atlanta Reparations Study Commission to research the extent of the City of Atlanta’s participation in the legal discrimination of African American residents and to provide recommendations for appropriate reparations (23-R-4351).
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to create and implement the senior citizens’ living expense decree or a senior citizen rent increase exemption for Georgia’s senior citizens (23-R-4353).
• An ordinance to establish the Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services Support (ADOLES) Trust Fund to support signature program initiatives related to the mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute, Summer Youth Employment Program, on-the-job training, ATL Quickpath, and Apprenticeship ATL (23-O-1576).
• An ordinance authorizing the mayor to apply for grant funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All Grant Program as a co-applicant with three Georgia local governments and a non-profit organization for $250 million (23-O-1575).
• An ordinance to authorize the mayor’s submission of an application for a $250,000 anti-displacement grant with the Rocket Community Fund to provide property tax assistance for homeowners in Atlanta (23-O-1587).
• A resolution requesting the Department of Watershed Management install storm drain grates perpendicular to the direction of traffic to enhance traffic safety (23-R-4349).
• A resolution to create the Little Five Points City Business Improvement District. Members of the proposed district consented to its formation through a petition to help improve the Little Five Points community and assist with funding supplemental services (23-R-4346).
Proclamations and recognitions were presented to honor 2023 World Day of Remembrance, Atlanta Business League, Clark Atlanta University, J.T. Johnson, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Kappa Omega Chapter.
Items were introduced for consideration in committee, including:
• An ordinance dividing the Community Development and Human Services Committee to create two new committees of the Atlanta City Council, called the Community Development Committee and the Human Services Committee.
• An ordinance requiring that all video surveillance cameras procured for use in City of Atlanta parks or for use at any City facility are compatible with the specifications of the Atlanta Police Department’s video surveillance program.
• A resolution to extend the existence of the Reproductive Justice Commission for 36 months to change the composition from seven to eight members.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 74 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances to provide for a minimum fine of $500 for a person or entity guilty of the offense of the unlawful disposal of litter where the litter is disposed of in an area of 100 sq. ft. or more of private property or property open to the public within the city.
• An ordinance authorizing the mayor, or his designee, to accept grant funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and amend the FY 2024 budget by adding to anticipations and appropriations an amount not to exceed $25 million for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant.
• An ordinance to ratify Mayor Andre Dickens’ October 2023 executive order imposing a moratorium on the Atlanta Medical Center’s acceptance of any rezoning, building permit, land disturbance permit, special-use permit, special administrative permit, subdivision, replating, or lot consolidation applications for parcels within the area designated.
• A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to permit amendment number one to the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Sandy Springs for the design of the Path 400 multi-use trail extension between Loridans Drive and the City of Sandy Springs city limit to add additional funding in an amount not to exceed $17,500.
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to enhance super speeding laws in Atlanta. The legislation is titled Erica’s Law.
