Council approves item outlining greater oversight for infrastructure measure
The Atlanta City Council adopted legislation Monday outlining increased oversight, accountability, resident participation, and a commitment to improved project delivery for the “Moving Atlanta Forward” infrastructure initiative (Legislative Reference №22-O-1369).
The Council also approved legislation to amend Part I (Charter and Related Laws), Subpart A (Charter), Article 2 (Legislative), Chapter 6 (City Auditor), Section 2–603 (Powers and Duties) of the City of Atlanta Charter to provide for subsequent reviews of the implementation of the audit report recommendations (Legislative Reference №22-O-1344). Monday’s vote was the second of three readings as a charter amendment.
Other items approved during Monday’s meeting include:
• An ordinance authorizing donations to the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta to facilitate the relocation of the residents of the Forest Cove property in a total amount not to exceed $9.1 million (Legislative Reference №22-O-1316).
• A resolution requesting the Fulton County Tax Commissioner to no longer sell City of Atlanta solid waste service fee liens for residents 65 years of age and older (Legislative Reference №22-R-3574).
• A resolution to request the Department of Human Resources provide a report listing the employees within Public Works, Watershed Management and Parks and Recreation who were eligible to receive premium pay funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Legislative Reference №22-R-3578).
• A resolution to celebrate the successful passage of House Bill 1013 during the Georgia General Assembly legislative session of 2022, to encourage the General Assembly to fully fund the measures called for in the bill during the 2023 legislative session, and to join the national movement to raise awareness about mental health by celebrating “Mental Health Awareness Month” in May 2022 (Legislative Reference №22-R-3579).
Proclamations were presented in honor of Morris Brown College and Dr. Kevin James, William M. March “DJ Willow Wow,” and Jo Anne Sims Hill, and in recognition of National Public Works Week and the City of Atlanta Department of Transportation achieving American Public Works Association (APWA) re-accreditation.
Items introduced to be considered in committee next week include:
• A resolution to request the study of an intergovernmental agreement between the mayor’s office, Atlanta Housing, invest Atlanta, and other affordable housing public sector entities so as to harmonize their efforts to construct new affordable housing and preserve existing affordable housing and to cooperatively maximize public sector resources to ensure the creation of sufficient affordable housing units to meet the urgent and growing needs of Atlanta.
• A resolution requesting that Invest Atlanta review previously approved projects for the development of affordable housing to consider revising the subsidized amounts to adjust for the current rate of inflation.
• A resolution recognizing the value of future Amtrak expansion within the city of Atlanta as a part of the Gulch Development.
• A resolution urging the mayor or his designee to authorize a feasibility study to provide recommendations regarding establishing a “Labor Relations Division” to be housed in the Department of Human Resources, to provide that such labor relations division would be tasked with the routine examination of employee classifications, pay grades and benefits, work in partnership with department heads, managers and supervisors and union leadership and their membership to recommend and develop policies to support the City of Atlanta’s workforce and to address inequities, work place grievances and to develop a process to routinely evaluate the City of Atlanta employees’ wages and benefits in comparison to municipalities of similar size and characteristics.
• A resolution to establish an exploratory committee to determine an appropriate manner to honor the legacy of former Atlanta City Council member Jim Maddox.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 22 and Chapter 98 of the City’s Code of Ordinance to provide approval for the police chief to exercise the authority provided in state law to designate, equip, and train non-sworn law enforcement employees and firefighters and volunteers to assist in traffic control and to direct and regulate the flow of traffic within Atlanta, including on roadways at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• An ordinance authorizing the mayor or his designee to execute a ground lease agreement with the Atlanta Police Foundation for property located at 2715 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for a lease term not to exceed 50 years to be used for an At-Promise Youth Community Center serving at-risk youth.
