Atlanta City Council: Significant legislative items for Tuesday, Jan. 3

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council will consider legislation during the Jan. 3 meeting to request that the mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction and the Atlanta Police Department develop a program to provide firearm safety storage, or lock boxes, free of charge to qualifying Atlanta residents to deter accidental shootings and reduce the theft of unsecured firearms and related crimes (22-R-4798).

The Council will also consider legislation authorizing a special procurement agreement with Grady Memorial Hospital to operate the Center for Diversion Services in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement between the City of Atlanta and Fulton County for an initial term of one year with two consecutive two-year options in an amount not to exceed approximately $1.46 million for the first year (22-R-4522).

Other items on the agenda include:

• A resolution requesting the mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction create and implement a biennial comprehensive crime reduction plan in the interest of promoting safety in Atlanta (22-R-4785).
• A resolution requesting and authorizing the City’s auditor and audit committee to conduct a performance and financial audit of the City’s Municipal Court (22-R-4794). The report would relate to budgeting, staffing, caseloads, and the number of failures to appear in court, among other areas of concern.
• A resolution urging Congress to re-introduce and approve the Youth Promise (Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education) Act to fund and support programs and initiatives that will assess, develop, and implement evidence-based practices to deter juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and criminal street gang activity (22-R-4797).
• A resolution authorizing the creation of a study group to review national best practices and provide recommendations for the creation of an e-bicycle rebate program for Atlanta (22-R-4801).
• A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to apply for and accept a total of $250,000 in Local Maintenance Improvement Grant funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation for the reconfiguration of Bill Kennedy Way between the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail and Southside Trail (22-R-4786).
• A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to enter into a project framework agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation and a project management agreement with the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District for the I-75/I-85 capping study – The Stitch – and to authorize the execution of all agreements related to The Stitch (22-R-4792).
• A resolution adopting the strategic delivery plan for the Moving Atlanta Forward 2022 Infrastructure Program on behalf of the Atlanta Department of Transportation (22-R-4827).
• A resolution urging the 2022-2023 regular session of the Georgia General Assembly to support the City of Atlanta’s 2023 legislative package (22-R-4694).

Proclamations will be presented during Tuesday’s meeting in recognition of K & K Soul Food, Charles Bell, journalist and news anchor Monica Kaufman Pearson, WSB-TV investigative reporter and anchor Richard Belcher, and WSB-TV chief meteorologist Glenn Burns.

The Council’s Committee Chairs briefing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chamber. The Committee on Council will convene in Committee Room No. 1 at 11 a.m. The full Council meeting will be held at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

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.