Council to consider 2021 legislative package
The Atlanta City Council will vote Monday on the approval of the City of Atlanta’s 2021 legislative package, a slate of proposals and policies that aim to communicate the City’s legislative and budget priorities to the Georgia General Assembly during the 2021 legislative session (Legislative Reference №20-R-4618). The City’s legislative package includes items that impact economic development, affordability, transportation, transparency, public safety, and local government revenues.
The package includes the eight items below:
1. The City of Atlanta opposes any legislation or action that seeks to change the ownership, operations and governance of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, including the creation of any entity that would provide oversight responsibilities for governance and/or operations.
2. Enable municipalities to establish dedicated funding sources for affordable housing. State enabling legislation is required to establish a local, dedicated, recurring revenue source.
3. Enable property tax deferral for low- and moderate-income residents in redeveloping areas. Local legislation that would enable the creation of a City of Atlanta property tax deferral program would help low- and moderate-income homeowners remain in their current homes without negatively impacting the City’s revenue.
4. Update the Atlanta Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) Program, a property tax abatement program administered by the City, in order to increase utilization of the tool and expand the geographic eligibility for affordable housing to encourage development more equitably across Atlanta.
5. Expand the available legal options for addressing street racing, such as permitting vehicle confiscation through civil forfeiture and permitting the municipalities to impose higher fines for street racing related traffic offenses.
6. Ban the use of no-knock warrants, including the adoption of other protocols such as clearly and verbally identifying as law enforcement that has a search warrant in a manner that can be heard by the occupants and requiring that body cameras be activated during the execution of a search warrant and that all officers present in the execution of a warrant be equipped with an operating body camera.
7. Require law enforcement agencies authorized to enforce state law within the territorial jurisdiction of a municipality, including the Georgia State Patrol, to file traffic citations written within the territorial jurisdictions of a municipality in the appropriate municipal court.
8. Limit county development authorities from issuing bonds within city limits and amend the Georgia Development Authorities Law to limit the operation of a development authority within a city’s boundaries to be only the municipal development authority.
The Council will also consider legislation to appoint Shannon Manigault to be the City’s first Inspector General for a term of five years starting in January 2021. This item will need to be approved by the Committee on Council before consideration by full Council. In February, the Council approved legislation finalizing the creation of the Office of Inspector General (Legislative Reference №19-O-1729). As part of the legislation, three divisions of the City’s government fall under the Inspector General — ethics, independent procurement review, and compliance.
Other items on Monday’s agenda include:
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 10 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances to require the chief financial officer to conduct annual forensic audits of the financial records of a sample of establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages (Legislative Reference №20-O-1741).
• An ordinance to authorize the City’s chief financial officer to make transfers within the Coronavirus Relief Funds provided to the City pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to cover costs incurred due to COVID-19 public health-related efforts (Legislative Reference №20-O-1730).
• A resolution authorizing an agreement with Agape Tennis Academy LLC for the management, maintenance, and performance of capital improvements at the City’s five tennis centers (Legislative Reference №20-R-4620).
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 30, Article XXIII of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances to remove kiosks from the public property vending program and implement a new process for vendors (Legislative Reference №20-O-1697).
• An ordinance to establish the Vending Kiosk Trust Fund to receive revenue generated by City-owned kiosks located in the public right-of-way with the exception of the annual licensing fee to be used for kiosks maintenance (Legislative Reference №20-O-1712).
The Council’s Zoning Committee and Committee on Council will be held in committee of the whole during Monday’s meeting.
The Dec. 7 meeting will take place remotely at 1 p.m. in response to the telework protocol activated for City Hall. The meeting will be simulcast on the Council’s website, YouTube channel, Channel 26, as well as the Council’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Media and the public can tune into the remote meeting by dialing (877) 579–6743 and entering the conference ID number 8315991256.
Pursuant to 20-R-4119, remarks from the public for all remote meetings will be accepted between the hours of 4–7 p.m. on the day before the scheduled meeting.
Residents can participate in the public comment portion of the meeting by calling (404) 330–6001 and leaving a voicemail, including their name and contact information.
Public comments for the Zoning Committee may be left by calling (404) 330–6035, and for Committee on Council by calling (404) 330–6069. No public comments are allowed on legislative items that have gone before or will go before the Zoning Review Board.
