Author: On Common Ground News

ATLANTA – State Rep. Valencia Stovall (D-Forest Park) will host the Second Annual Educate Georgia Summit on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and Thursday, Jan. 12, at the State Capitol, 206 Washington St., Atlanta. “Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity to hear from citizens from across the state on the top challenges facing our education system,” said Rep. Stovall. “Whether at our House Education Committee Listening Sessions or at community town hall meetings, I heard time and time again that we have major cracks in our education system. We have to help develop the plan, and change is…

The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management will host a community open house to announce new construction for the Honey Creek Pump Station and Force Main in the Stonecrest area. The event takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 6 p.m., at the Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Lithonia. The construction is a new phase of capital improvement projects under the federal Consent Decree. The sanitary sewer collection system in the Stonecrest and Lithonia areas is designed to move wastewater through a sewer pipe from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, increasing sewer capacity and reducing sanitary sewer overflows in the…

The qualifying period for the five council seats and mayor’s seat opened today for the city of Stonecrest City Council. The qualifying period will end on Wednesday. So far, the following people have qualified: City Council District 1 Jimmy Clanton, Jr. P.O. Box 1495 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 404-657-6283        Email: jimmyclantonjr@gmail.com Charles Ross P.O. Box 870928 Stone Mountain, GA 30087 Phone: 404-272-4633         Email: charlesross@outlook.com City Council, District 2 Plez A. Joyner P.O. Box 1462 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 404-915-5038   Email: plez4stonecrest2@gmail.com City Council, District 3 Eric Hubbard P.O. Box 1374 Lithonia, GA 30058 Phone: (B) 678-321-8763        …

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Georgia’s net tax collections for December totaled nearly $2.06 billion, for an increase of $15.2 million, or 0.7 percent, compared to December 2015. Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled approximately $10.86 billion, for an increase of $414.4 million, or 4.0 percent, over last year when net tax revenues totaled $10.44 billion. The changes within the following tax categories account for December’s overall net tax revenue increase: 
Individual Income Tax:  Individual Income Tax collections for December increased by $0.8 million, or 0.1 percent, compared to last year, when net income tax collections totaled $1.11 billion.…

DeKalb County Tax Commissioner Irvin J. Johnson is reminding DeKalb taxpayers who owned and resided in their property on Jan. 1, 2017 to qualify for a basic homestead exemption. The homestead exemption, which provides a significant tax savings to homeowners, must be applied for in person, by mail or via the Internet because exemptions are not automatically granted. Neither mortgage nor any other companies can file applications for property owners. By law, exemptions are not available for rental or commercial property and there is never a fee to file. In addition to the basic homestead exemption, there are special exemptions…

DeKalb County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw issued a news release today stating in support of Commissioner Kathie Gannon for the role of Presiding Officer. The seven-member Board of Commissioners will elect its leaders at Tuesday’s BOC meeting. Gannon is challenging Commissioner Larry Johnson, who is currently the presiding officer. “In tomorrow’s Board of Commissioners vote for the role of Presiding Officer, I intend to vote for District 6 Commissioner Kathy Gannon. My rationale is as follows: For 12 years, as a Super District Commissioner, Kathie has successfully represented a broad cross section of DeKalb County; North/South and Black/White. Commissioner…

The Rockdale Board of Elections will host its regular meeting on Thursday, Jan 12, 4 p.m., at the Rockdale Board of elections Office, 1400 Parker Road, Lobby C, Conyers. The public is invited to the meeting. For more information, call 770-278-7333.

Robbers are becoming more clever in their holdups. Conyers police are asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect who waited in a bathroom stall until closing to rob a Fred’s discount store. “It is unusual. I can’t think of any robbery we have had recently like this one,” Conyers Police Sgt. Kim Lucas said. Police said the black male entered Fred’s on New Year’s Eve around 8:40 p.m. and waited in a women’s bathroom stall before ambushing an employee at 9 p.m., closing time. The subject was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun and used duct…

Courts in DeKalb and Rockdale counties are among those in metro Atlanta that are making electronic filing mandatory for civil cases and land records, effective this year. The new system, officials say, will enable residents and attorneys to open cases and file documents from a user-friendly, secure website — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Officials say electronically filed transactions are faster the old way of filing by paper, with many e-filings taking less than 60 seconds. “We have reached a pivotal moment in our transition to electronic court records and now documents can be digitally filed, served,…

If you own a business within the city of Atlanta, you will not receive a renewal application by mail this year. The city is cutting down on paper waste and boosting efforts to be more efficient by requiring businesses to file renewals online. The deadline to submit the renewal application online is Feb. 15. Once a renewal application is filed, businesses will have until April 1 to pay the invoiced amount. All applications and forms n be found on the City of Atlanta website at www.atlantaga.gov. Businesses are encouraged to renew their business license, using their PIN, online at https://web.atlantaga.gov/blis/.…