In The Know This Week: Atlanta will talk scooters and trash taxes and a public hearing on education will be held for Northeast Georgia residents.

In The Know: Atlanta could extend scooter contracts, state education public hearing

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The Atlanta City Council will consider legislation during Monday’s meeting to amend the City of Atlanta’s Code of Ordinances to update the regulations for shareable dockless mobility devices – commonly known as scooters – to extend existing annual permits (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1275). 

In total, 8,000 permits for scooters across three companies expire in May. This legislation ensures that the City of Atlanta maintains shareable dockless mobility access for residents and continues to maintain the standards regarding the number of companies and devices deployed in Atlanta while the approach to shareable dockless mobility devices is reconsidered and until a revised permit process is in place.

The Council will also consider legislation to amend Chapter 114 of the City of Atlanta’s Code of Ordinances to add a new subsection regarding hearing procedures for employee disciplinary action (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1290). The amendment provides that if an employee files a notice of appeal with the Civil Service Board objecting to an adverse action, a hearing on the appeal must begin within 18 months of filing the notice or the adversed action will be dismissed.

Other items on Monday’s agenda include:

• An ordinance to authorize an amendment to the lease with Invest Atlanta to exclude from the current BeltLine corridor certain portions of land to implement a “BeltLine Marketplace” pilot program to help business owners (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1306). In 2014, the City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta entered into a lease agreement in which certain segments of the BeltLine were leased to the City of Atlanta on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation. This legislation would exclude the “Marketplace” locations from the BeltLine lease to allow Invest Atlanta to maintain control over these areas to implement the program.

• An ordinance authorizing amending the City’s Charter to amend the City’s authority to charge and collect taxes and assessments for sanitary and solid waste disposal services, and to establish and collect rates, fees, and charges for those services (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1280). The legislation also authorizes the adoption of an administrative process for the resolution of disputes regarding the basis of a sanitary and solid waste tax assessment against a property. Monday’s vote would be the second of three required readings for adoption as a Charter amendment.

• An ordinance to erect historical markers to memorialize the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre to be installed at 112 Courtland Street NE and 35 Gammon Avenue SE in Atlanta (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1246).

• A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to exercise renewal option No. 1 for a contract for Canada geese removal services with Atlanta Animal Evictions Inc. on behalf of the Department of Watershed Management for a one-year term in an amount not to exceed $157,550 subject to approval of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget (Legislative Reference No. 22-R-3443).

• An ordinance authorizing the City of Atlanta to amend the Fiscal Year 2022 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Fund by adding to anticipations and appropriations an amount not to exceed $2.67 million awarded to the City from the state of Georgia to pay public safety officers and first responders who have served the City during the pandemic (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1277).

• An ordinance to accept the preliminary engineering design and cost estimate for a Vietnam War monument as provided by Fowler Design Associates Inc. (Legislative Reference No. 22-O-1272).

• A resolution requesting Wellstar Health System Inc. reconsider closing Atlanta Medical Center South (Legislative Reference No. 22-R-3406).

• A resolution to urge the City of Atlanta to prioritize and execute recommendations of the Age-Friendly Atlanta Action Plan (Legislative Reference No. 22-R-3408).

• A resolution to establish a short-term rental commission to provide adequate community outreach and educational materials to promote awareness of the City of Atlanta’s short-term rental policy (Legislative Reference No. 22-R-3415).

Proclamations will be presented in honor of the Atlanta Community Schoolyards Initiative and the City of Atlanta’s E-911 Unit for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

The Council’s Committee Chairs briefing will be held in person Mondays during the week of full Council at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chamber.

The Committee on Council will convene in Committee Room No. 1 at 11 a.m. ahead of Monday’s full Council meeting.

Monday’s full Council meeting will be held in person at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall. All meetings will be conducted in accordance with the City of Atlanta’s Charter, City Code of Ordinances, and the rules of Council as adopted for in-person meetings. The meeting will be simulcast on the Council’s website,YouTube channel, Facebook and Twitter pages, and Channel 26. Closed captioning will be available on the Council’s Facebook page.

In-person public comment procedures will be held as previously conducted and adopted by the Council in accordance with City Charter Section 2-104 and 2-105.

Following the recent executive order from the mayor and in observance of guidance from health and facilities professionals, several safety protocols are in place, including mandatory mask wearing in the chamber, the observing of room capacity limits, and increased cleaning protocols.


Education Public Hearing for Northeast Georgia residents

State Board of Education member Martha Zoller will hold a public hearing for citizens in the 9th Congressional District on Tuesday, May 3 from 7 to 8 p.m. at Lumpkin County Board of Education, 56 Indian Drive in Dahlonega.

The purpose of the hearing is to hear comments from interested citizens and educators within the congressional district regarding K-12 public education. Those wishing to speak should sign in upon arrival. For more information, please contact SBOEadmin@doe.k12.ga.us

The Georgia Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to, access to, or operations of its programs, services, or activities. Individuals who need assistance or auxiliary aids for participation in this public forum are invited to make their needs known to SBOEadmin@doe.k12.ga.us no later than 72 hours before the scheduled event.

The 9th Congressional District includes Banks, Dawson, Elbert, Fannin, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties along with portions of Clarke, Forsyth, and Pickens counties. Find your congressional district here.


In The Know: While much attention is given to national politics and the workings of Congress and the White House, local government meetings are where the decisions that impact your daily life are made. City Council, County Commission, School Board Meetings, and Town Halls are where your elected leaders discuss and decide the issues that most effect your family and your community. These meetings are open to the public.

Each week, The Georgia Sun highlights some of the meetings and local government actions you need to know about in your community to keep you informed and to make sure you know what decisions your elected officials are considering and how your tax dollars are being spent.


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