Copy
View this email in your browser
As we push the send button for April’s newsletter, we know events are likely to overtake our message. Maybe that’s the only thing we can say with certainty. It is why we sent two special updates to you since March’s letter.

I hope you are well. As mundane as it sounds, remaining healthy may be the greatest contribution to society each of us can make. To that end, please join me in observing Atlanta’s stay-at-home order the Mayor issued last week. More on that later in the newsletter.

These times are difficult, but they will end. How we behave will mark us forever. Tough times bring out the best --- and the worst --- in us. I want for us to look back and see our best selves. 

I dislike the phrase ‘social distancing.’ I prefer ‘physical distancing.’ Now, more than ever, we need to be socially close. To help us remain a safe physical distance, I asked the mayor to permit the use of the Chastain golf course for walkers and runners. Golf had been halted, and the PATH around the course --- even at 10-12 feet wide --- had become crowded and harder to maintain enough physical distance between people. Thank you, Madam Mayor and parks Commissioner Dargle for opening this green space for the community to use during these times! 

In this newsletter, we’ll talk about some of the fiscal and operational challenges we face as a city and how we can surmount them. We’ll discuss a big idea to reduce traffic deaths to zero. And we’ll celebrate those in our neighborhood, like Reilly O’Neill and a Piedmont Hospital doctor, who appealed to neighbors for safety masks for hospital use.

As events unfold, here is a way to stay up-to-date: sign up for City of Atlanta COVID-19 text messages by texting ATLCOVID19 or ATLSTRONG to 888777. For more information, visit: https://atlstrong.org. If you have a question about if a business is classified as “essential,” please email stayathome@atlantaga.gov.  

As always, we urge you to use 311 for routine city matters. And don’t hesitate to contact me, Katie, or Jim for assistance. Our contact information can be found at the bottom of the newsletter.

For your reference, we’ll close the newsletter with the mayor’s recent stay-at-home order, as well as a summary of the businesses and tasks that are considered essential. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Now More Than Ever
Jim Elgar took this photo of a Parks and Recreation Department crew in his Loring Heights neighborhood. Three men, one wearing a mask, symbolize the thousands who continue to serve in trying times.
They’re always a welcome sight, but it’s at times like these that we develop a deeper appreciation for the men and women who --- day-in, day-out --- work on our behalf.

Too often, we have taken them for granted. No longer. May that forever be the case.   

The Fiscal Implications We Must Address
Priority #1 is to ensure the safety and well-being of all Atlantans during this medical crisis. As the virus abates, its financial cost to all of us, including the city of Atlanta, will be enormous.

As one who has spent his entire adult life working in private business, I know the importance of surviving tough times, then getting an enterprise up and running. The human toll of COVID-19 will be bad enough. The fiscal toll is something we must begin to address, even as the virus rages.

As the 2008-09 Great Recession wound down, the city had a mere $7 million in reserve. Thanks to the foresight and hard work of previous council members and administrations during prosperous years, the city replenished its reserves.

At the beginning of this fiscal year, Atlanta had a rainy-day cushion of approximately $173 million in unrestricted funds, though approximately $30 million of that amount was committed, leaving a balance of about $143 million. That’s about 20% of the city’s nearly $680 million general fund budget in fiscal 2020, which ends June 30. We’ve just tapped the reserves for $7 million to feed children and seniors, care for the homeless, and meet COVID-related needs for essential city employees. Being able to spend money in a time of need is why we built up a reserve.

I imagine we will have other reasons to further spend from the reserves as the crisis goes on; however, the city’s charter requires us to keep our unrestricted reserves at no less than 15% - 20% our general fund budget. That translates into a little over $100 million. Know that as a private-company CFO and member of the council's finance committee, I’ll continue to keep a careful eye on the city’s finances.

As this chart shows, Atlanta’s revenue depends on tax-driven categories that will be impacted by the virus.
Sales taxes account for about 17% of the city’s revenue. When goods and services don’t sell, they are not taxed. Property taxes, at a little over $200 million, make up about a third of Atlanta’s general fund budget. As a reminder, over half of your property taxes go to Atlanta Public Schools, a little over a quarter goes to Fulton County, and the City of Atlanta receives the remainder. I am proud the city has held its share of property taxes flat for the past 10 years. Keeping that streak alive will be more difficult as we budget for fiscal 2021, but I am committed to finding a way to operate the city without a property tax increase. 

While we don’t want to distract from providing life-saving services, the fiscal condition of our city is very much on my mind. It’s why I cast the lone ‘no’ vote (there were four ‘yeses’ and two abstentions) when asked at a recent council committee meeting to authorize a $200 million bond proposal to provide affordable housing for Atlanta’s poor. 

I support initiatives to provide affordable housing, but I want to be sure we can afford them. Right now, amid great uncertainty about future city revenues and unbudgeted expenses, I’m calling for the city to spend cautiously. Any increase in spending at this time must be accompanied by a credible plan for how we will pay for it. With revenues projected to decline from slower spending, the city would need to make cuts to current programs if it wants to spend in other places. These are good conversations to have, and I expect some healthy debate as we head into a tough budget season beginning in a few weeks. 

Perhaps the just-passed $2 trillion relief package will contain funds for Atlanta. If it does, that will help. In addition, we will continue to spend our Renew Atlanta and T-SPLOST dollars that were voter-approved and earmarked for specific public works projects. They are separate from our ongoing operating budget. They bring important infrastructure improvements, and they will stimulate our economy. In fact, we really need to increase our spending to address the condition of our roads and sidewalks; we are not currently investing at a rate that matches their expected life. Again, to increase spending in one place we will need to make trade-offs and reduce spending in other places.  

Just as each of us face difficult personal economic choices, so, too, must the city of Atlanta.

Trash and Recycling Workers Need Our Help
Theirs is a difficult job under the best of circumstances. Now, in addition to keeping an eye on passing traffic, they worry about what is in that garbage can or recycling bin. Each pickup carries the threat of contact with the COVID-19 virus.

Effective immediately, according to the Department of Public Works Solid Waste Service, customers are asked to bag all garbage as tightly and securely as possible before placing it in the green trash containers. Only bagged items inside of the bins will be collected. Bags outside of the trash bins will not be collected until further notice. This helps keep our solid waste employees safe.

Empty, clean, dry recyclables should be placed in the blue recycling cart, but not bagged, as plastic bags impact sorting equipment and contaminate recyclables. Only items inside of the bins will be collected. Items outside of the bins will not be collected.

Regular schedules will be maintained and additional safety measures will be taken for staff and crews, including personal protective equipment. 

I had the pleasure of spending a day with a sanitation crew about a year ago. I learned how difficult and, on occasion, dangerous the job can be. It heightened my awareness and respect for the jobs these men and women perform.

Operating under today’s circumstances, they have increased the esteem in which I hold them. And I’m committed to making sure the city takes care of the people who take care of us.

Good Samaritans
Reilly O’Neill prepares for another Westminster broadcast on WCAT.
For Reilly O’Neill, a 16-year-old Westminster sophomore who lives in Chastain Park, it was the knowledge that his grandparents needed help that inspired his post on the Nextdoor website.

‘(There are) people who have no one and may be reluctant to ask,’ Reilly said of his offer to run errands for those advised to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reilly, who has two younger brothers, said his offer brought lots of thank-you’s and two requests. An elderly woman needed a prescription for a lung ailment to be picked up at a pharmacy. Another needed a packaged dropped off at the post office.

An aspiring sports broadcaster (Reilly calls Westminster games on the school’s radio station, WCAT), Reilly said he feels sorry for what seniors are going through.  

Dr. John Meisinger, an anesthesiologist at Piedmont Medical Center who lives in Sandy Springs near Chastain, saw a need for N-95 masks to protect caregivers and patients. 

‘For those who have some masks left over from a paint project . . .  and are willing to donate them, feel free to bring N-95 masks by my house and I will take them to the hospital,’ he wrote on Nextdoor. ‘Just know I’ll do my best to get this stuff set up for use, especially if things go sideways.’
 
Fifty-three people replied to Dr. Meisinger’s appeal. One donor found a box with 20 masks. A woman said she had one from a ‘painting project I never got around to.’ ‘We have some,’ wrote another. ‘We’ll drop them by.’ A group of 84 sewers, calling themselves the ‘Buckhead Mask Project,’ was identified as a source of homemade masks.

At times like these we need each other. 

Speed Kills
Imagine an Atlanta where no one --- driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist --- dies because of a traffic accident.

According to 2017 data from the US Department of Transportation, Atlanta had 11.3 traffic-related deaths per 100,000 population. That’s a ratio three times higher than peer cities,  Seattle, Minneapolis and Boston, all of which generally have lower speed limits. Pedestrian deaths were 4.3 per 100,000 in Atlanta. 
Research shows the faster a vehicle travels, the greater the chance of a fatality.
We need to lower the speed limits on our city streets, then make sure they’re enforced. That’s the goal of Vision Zero, an effort I support and will work to make a reality. Vision Zero is a core principle of our One Atlanta Strategic Transportation Plan. It will require a concerted effort.
Our goal is to lower the speed limit to 25 on hundreds of Atlanta streets in six to nine months.
It will be worth the effort to save lives. Stay tuned.

Rules for City of Atlanta During the COVID-19 Crisis
On March 19, Mayor Bottoms issued two Executive Orders. The first ordered the closure of all bars and nightclubs that do not serve food, gyms and fitness centers, movie theaters, live performance venues, bowling alleys and arcades, and private social clubs located in the city. However, restaurants and other eating and drinking establishments where food is served may continue preparing and offering food to customers via delivery service, drive-through or take out.

The second action suspends the booting and towing of vehicles in the City right of way in an effort to assist restaurants and other eating establishments to continue to operate and allow delivery service workers to maintain and manage their operations in what is anticipated to be an increase in food delivery services.

On March 23, Mayor Bottoms issued a stay-at-home order to city residents to further slow the virus. The action ordered all individuals living in the city to stay at their place of residence, except to provide or receive “essential services” or engage in certain “essential activities” and work for essential businesses and government services. The order directs all businesses to cease all non-essential operations at physical locations within the city and prohibits all public and private gatherings of any number of individuals occurring outside a single household (nothing in the order prohibits the gathering of members of a household). Individuals may go outdoors but should maintain social distancing of at least six feet. On March 27, Mayor Bottoms reissued this order to clarify several exemptions.

The text of the revised order, edited for brevity, follows:
Individuals may leave their residence only to perform any of the following “Essential Activities.” 
i. To engage in activities or perform tasks essential to their health and safety, or to the health and safety of their family or household members (including, but not limited to, pets).

ii. To obtain necessary services or supplies for themselves and their family or household members, or to deliver those services or supplies to others.

iii. To engage in outdoor activity, provided the individuals comply with Social Distancing Requirements.

iv. To perform work providing essential products and services at an Essential Business or to otherwise carry out activities specifically permitted in this Order.

v. To care for a family member or pet in another household.

Individuals may leave their residence to work for or obtain services at any “Healthcare Operations” including hospitals, clinics, dentists, pharmacies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, other healthcare facilities, healthcare suppliers, home healthcare services providers, mental health providers, or any related and/or ancillary healthcare services. “Healthcare Operations” also includes veterinary care and all healthcare services provided to animals. This exemption shall be construed broadly to avoid any impacts to the delivery of healthcare, broadly defined. “Healthcare Operations” does not include fitness and exercise gyms and similar facilities.

Individuals may leave their residence to provide any services or perform any work necessary to the operations and maintenance of “Essential Infrastructure,” including, but not limited to public works, landscaping, construction, airport operations, utility, water, sewer, gas, electrical, oil refining, roads and highways, railroads, public transportation, taxi/rideshare, solid waste collection and removal, internet, and telecommunications systems.

All first responders, emergency management personnel, emergency dispatchers, court personnel, and law enforcement personnel, and others working for or to support Essential Businesses are categorically exempt from this Order.

Covered businesses include any for-profit, non-profit, or educational entities, regardless of the nature of the service, the function they perform, or its corporate or entity structure.

“Essential Businesses” means:
1. Healthcare Operations and Essential Infrastructure;

2. Grocery stores, farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, package stores including liquor stores and wine shops, convenience stores, and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet supply, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning and personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and also sell other non-grocery products, and products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences;

3. Food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;

4. Businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals;

5. Newspapers, television, radio, and other media services;

6. Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair, bike shops and related facilities;

7. Banks and related financial institutions;

8. Hardware stores; lodging businesses (e.g., hotels, motels, conference centers);

9. Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, Essential Activities, and Essential Businesses;

10. Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes;

11. Educational institutions—including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—for purposes of facilitating distance learning or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible;

12. Laundromats, dry cleaners, and laundry service providers;

13. Restaurants and other facilities that prepare and serve food, but only for delivery or carry out. Schools and other entities that typically provide food services to students or members of the public may continue to do so under this Order on the condition that the food is provided to students or members of the public on a pick-up and takeaway basis only. Schools and other entities that provide food services under this exemption shall not permit the food to be eaten at the site where it is provided, or at any other gathering site. Cafeterias in hospitals, nursing homes, or similar facilities shall not be subject to the restrictions contained in this order.

14. Businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home, including printing services;

15. Businesses that supply other essential businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate;

16. Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences;

17.  Home-based care for seniors, adults, or children;

18. Residential facilities and shelters for seniors, adults, and children;

19. Professional services, such as legal, insurance or accounting services;

20. Childcare facilities; and

21. Utility, water, sewer, gas, electrical, oil refining, roads and highways, railroads, public transportation, taxi/rideshare, solid waste collection and removal, internet, and telecommunications systems (including the provision of essential global, national, and local infrastructure for computing services, business infrastructure, communications, and web-based services).

District 8 Contacts

 

J.P. Matzigkeit    

jpmatzigkeit@atlantaga.gov

404.330.6051

 

Katie Howard

jpmatzigkeit@atlantaga.gov

404.330.6051

 

Jim Elgar

jqelgar@atlantaga.gov

404.546.4911
Subscribe to the District 8 Newsletter
Copyright © 2020, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Atlanta City Hall
55 Trinity Ave, S.W.
Suite 2900
Atlanta, GA 30303-3584

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
City Council · 55 Trinity Ave SW Ste 2900 · Atlanta · Atlanta, GA 30303-3544 · USA