CCI Policy Updates: Week of July 6 – July 10
The Center for Civic Innovation's mission is to inspire people to take action, invest in promising homegrown ideas, and advocate for policy change. These are challenging times. CCI believes that informed and civically engaged residents are the key to making Atlanta the city we all know it can be.
This is why we started this blog series, to provide our community with important and relevant policy updates. Each post recaps the past week and provides a look ahead at what's on the agenda next week, including opportunities for everyone to engage within the community.
Week of July 6 Policy Updates:
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered the City’s phased reopening plan to be moved back to Phase I and issued an Executive Order requiring the use of masks or face coverings and prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people on City property. Additionally, she extended the moratorium on residential evictions and filings due to COVID-19 affecting on housing controlled by Atlanta Housing, Atlanta Beltline, the Fulton County / City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority, Invest Atlanta, and Partners for Home. Finally, she created an advisory council to focus on youth entrepreneurship.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp tweeted that the Mayor’s order was “non-binding and legally unenforceable.”
The Atlanta City Council held its regular meeting on Monday that extended into Tuesday due to approximately 18 hours of public comment. (press release) Approved legislation includes:
an ordinance adopting the “8 Can’t Wait” principles and requesting amendments to the Atlanta Police Department’s standard operating procedures to incorporate use of force alternatives (20-O-1449)
an ordinance adding two members from youth-serving organizations to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board and expand the board’s investigative authority (20-O-1445)
an ordinance designating Juneteenth as a paid holiday for City of Atlanta employees (20-O-1454)
a resolution approving a deployment plan for rental assistance funds from the CARES Act (20-R-4067)
a resolution creating a participatory engagement process for a permanent Black Lives Matter mural (20-R-4061)
a resolution to change the hours when the public can leave public comment for council meetings to be between 4:00pm and 7:00pm on the day before the scheduled meeting, starting with meetings scheduled in August
Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring announced her recommendation that the school system delay the start of classes from August 10th until August 24th and will begin virtually, pending school board approval. (memo)
After stating earlier in the week that it would encourage but not require passengers to wear masks, MARTA issued a statement that they will be enforcing a mask requirement. (news)
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners met (post agenda) and received their regular COVID-19 Response Update (presentation).
Opportunities for Engagement Next Week:
Monday, July 13
10:00am & 6:00pm – City of Atlanta Parks & Recreation Master Plan Virtual Public Input Meeting: Southeast Atlanta (info)
2:00pm – Atlanta City Council Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee (agenda)
Office of Public Defender Update
Municipal Court Quarterly Report
Mayor’s Use of Force Advisory Council Update
an ordinance to make the Atlanta Citizens Review Board a charter-mandated board (20-O-1477)
an ordinance requiring the Atlanta Police Department to work with the Fulton County District Attorney’s office on investigations of officer-involved shootings, incidents of serious bodily injury, and accusations of sexual misconduct (20-O-1486)
an ordinance to conduct a study on expanding the Atlanta Police Department to include a crisis intervention division or other specialized unit as a social service component (20-O-1487)
a resolution requesting the Atlanta Police Department explore alternative non-lethal methods of crowd control (20-R-4122)
3:00pm – Invest Atlanta and URFA Finance Committees (agendas)
5:00pm – Atlanta Board of Education (notice)
Reopening Strategy (presentation)
Tuesday, July 14
9:00am – DeKalb County Board of Commissioners (agenda)
10:00am – Atlanta City Council City Utilities Committee (agenda)
1:30pm – Community Development & Human Services Committee (agenda)
Atlanta Housing Authority Update
Invest Atlanta Economic Mobility Full Plan Presentation
an ordinance to Atlanta Beltline Subarea 9 and 10 Master Plans incorporating portions of NPUs G, J, K, L, and T (20-O-1501)
an ordinance to contract with the Fulton County Board of Health for COVID-19 testing and tracing (20-O-1481)
6:30pm – NPU L
Wednesday, July 15
9:30am – Transportation Committee (agenda)
an ordinance to dedicate transit-only lanes within the North Avenue, Summerhill, and Campbellton corridors for projects related to More MARTA, Atlanta’s Transportation Plan, the One Atlanta Strategic Transportation Plan, and the Atlanta City Design (20-O-1471)
1:30pm – Finance & Executive Committee (agenda)
Thursday, July 16
Saturday, July 18
Other Opportunities for Engagement:
The Department of Parks & Recreation has created an online survey as part of ActivateATL: Recreation & Parks for All, their new 10-year comprehensive master planning effort.
Have you responded to the 2020 Census? As of July 10th, the self-response rate in the City of Atlanta is 54.3%.
What We’re Reading/Watching/Hearing:
1,200 public comments last nearly 18 hours in marathon Atlanta council meeting focusing on police reform and Atlanta city council votes to limit public comment – We’ve been listening to A LOT of public comment in recent weeks. The Council’s staff has been overwhelmed, but in partnership with Code for Atlanta we’re working on a solution to ensure the public’s voice continues to be heard.
Why This Atlanta Park Has a Dedicated Case Manager – NextCity reports on the partnership between the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and HOPE Atlanta that has allowed for a case manager to be in Woodruff Park since 2018. This project was a Civic Impact Award finalist in 2019.
Commentary: A note to Atlanta on race and inclusion – CCI Fellows Monica Campana, Marian Liou, and Malika Whitley along with other Black women and women of color contributed an open letter to Reporter Newspapers.
As Minneapolis’ Mayor, I Saw How White Liberals Block Change – Former Mayor Betsy Hodges (2014-18) has shared this opinion piece with the New York Times on how white liberals need to be part of the solution rather than the problem.
America's Enduring Caste System – ”Not one of us was here when this house was built… We are the heirs to whatever is right or wrong with it. We did not erect the uneven pillars or joists, but they are ours to deal with now. And any further deterioration is, in fact, on our hands.” Isabel Wilkerson writes for the New York Times Magazine.
The Role of Cognitive Dissonance in the Pandemic – Two social psychologists help explain how we all strive to make sense out of contradictory ideas and live our lives in a consistent and meaningful way, at least in our own heads.
To make these updates better, we need your input. What was most informative or helpful? What did we miss? Please email us at policy@civicatlanta.org.