CCI Policy Updates: Week of June 29 – July 3
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 June 29 Policy Updates:
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms extended administrative orders related to COVID-19 for another 60 days, issued an Administrative Order to conduct citywide public engagement in policing discussions and reforms, and announced the privately-funded Mayors for a Guaranteed Income pilot program. She also issued orders to provide additional assistance to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board (2020-22) and to create a repository where the public can submit videos of police use of force incidents (2020-23).
Mayor Bottoms held a press conference on Sunday evening saying “enough is enough” following the killing of 8-year old Secoriea Turner near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was killed weeks ago.
Following taking scooters off the streets as part of the City’s COVID-related shutdown of non-essential businesses, the City launched its Shareable Dockless Mobility Devices Program for 2020-21.
Dr. Lisa Herring was sworn in as the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. (blog post / video)
District 3 Councilmember Antonio Brown announced members of the People’s Uprising Task Force “focused on policy and action-based programmatic initiatives to dismantle systemic oppression that evoke uprisings.” (press release)
Post 1 At-Large Councilmember Michael Julian Bond issued a statement explaining his recent votes on police reform and funding.
Opportunities for Engagement Next Week:
Monday, July 6
1:00pm – Atlanta City Council (agenda)
an ordinance to increase the membership and expand the authority of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board (20-O-1445)
an ordinance requesting changes to APD’s standard operating procedures regarding use of force (#8CANTWAIT / 20-O-1449)
a resolution to accept pro bono services from Boston Consulting Group regarding use of force policies (20-R-4065)
a resolution to approve a deployment plan for rental assistance grants funded by the CARES Act (20-R-4067)
an ordinance to accept a grant to fund a full-time fellow for the City’s Bank On Atlanta initiative (20-O-1453)
an ordinance to designate Juneteenth as a paid holiday for City employees (20-O-1454)
an ordinance to ease the requirements to rename streets currently associated with the Confederacy (20-O-1446)
a resolution to request a participatory engagement process to select a street for a permanent Black Lives Matter mural (20-R-4061)
a resolution to authorize the creation of a mural or murals along Auburn Avenue to affirm the proud history of African Americans in the city (20-R-4064)
7:00pm – NPU P (agenda)
Tuesday, July 7
Wednesday, July 8
Thursday, July 9
7:00pm – NPU H (agenda)
Friday, July 10
Saturday, July 11
10:00am & 6:00pm – City of Atlanta Parks & Recreation Master Plan Virtual Public Input Meeting: Southwest Atlanta (info)
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 2nd, the self-response rate in the City of Atlanta is 54.1%.
What We’re Reading/Watching/Hearing:
How race and racism shaped growth and cityhood in north metro Atlanta – Reporter Newspapers discusses racial segregation that led to the creation of new majority-white cities north of the city.
Two runoffs, possible big consequences in Fulton criminal justice – Maggie Lee writes for Saporta Report about the Democratic primary run-offs for District Attorney and Sheriff that might unseat decades-long incumbents.
For sheriffs, healthcare for inmates can be a burden. For one doctor, it has been the opportunity of a lifetime. – CCI Fellow Max Blau wrote this piece earlier about for-profit healthcare in Georgia’s correctional system.
Citizens group proposes an alternative tree ordinance for Atlanta – Maria Saporta covers a citizen-led effort for an alternative rewrite of the city’s tree ordinance.
The Mug Shot Is a Crime Story Staple. Newsrooms Are Turning Away. – The New York Times shares that the San Francisco Police Department and many media outlets across the country are no longer sharing photos of people who’ve been arrested since they can reinforce racial biases.
Black families pay significantly higher property taxes – The Washington Post reports on a new study that looked at 118 million home sales across the country and found that black families pay 13% more in property taxes annually than a white family would in the same situation.
Nextdoor Will Offer Bias Training To App Moderators To Combat Racism – NPR interviews the social media platform’s CEO after content about Black Lives Matter was removed by neighborhood moderators.
How States Co-opted Local Power During Coronavirus – Whether closing or reopening, CityLab reports on states overriding cities’ efforts to combat this public health crisis.
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.