October 2, 2023 - Strategic Performance Report

BIWEEKLY STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE REPORT

OCTOBER 2, 2023

STANLEY D HAWTHORNE CITY MANAGER

I am pleased to transmit the 7th installment of the Community Building Leadership Team’s (CBLT’s) Strategic Performance Report (SPR).

The SPR showcases activities and information across the full range of College Park’s operations and administration, every two weeks coinciding with the regular meetings of the Mayor and Council. The format and its content are topical based; concise in nature; accented with images and illustrations for more relatable reading; and organized by the alphabetical ordering of offices and departments, which follows a lead topic(s) from the City Manager in the opening pages of the report.

GENERAL FUND FINANCIAL REVIEW

As we prepare for the First Quarter Review of the Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget, it has been important for me to conduct a deep dive into the City’s financial [funds] structure, policies, and net position. I refer to it as my financial thesis: only begun and far from finished. As I incrementally write and share my thesis, I hope it will assist in guiding budget recommendations, deliberations and tough decisions ahead balancing critical needs of the community with limited financial resources including the annual setting of the property tax millage rate.

The General Fund is the chief operating fund of the City supporting the bulk of services and operations as authorized by the charter such as police and fire protection, development, parks and recreation, highways and streets, inspection and engineering services, and various general administrative services to residents of the City.

Correspondingly, those services require a supporting revenue base. For the Fiscal Year 2023, taxes accounted for more than 66 percent of revenues for the General Fund. Operating transfers in at 18 percent followed by licenses and permits at 11 percent were the next highest sources of resources support to the General Fund. In total, those three major categories of income represent 95 percent of the total revenue budget.

FUND BALANCE POLICY: BEST PRACTICES

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), founded in 1906, represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada. The association’s more than 20,000 members are federal, state/provincial, and local finance officials deeply involved in planning, financing, and implementing thousands of governmental operations in each of their jurisdictions. GFOA’s mission is to advance excellence in public finance.

For its members, of which College Parks participates, it has established “Best Practices” for various financial policies and procedures including “Fund Balance Guidelines for the General Fund.” Governments should establish a formal policy on the level of unrestricted fund balance that should be maintained in the general fund for generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and budgetary purposes.

It is essential that governments maintain adequate levels of fund balance to mitigate current and future risks (for example, revenue shortfalls and unanticipated expenditures) and to ensure stable tax rates. In most cases, discussions of fund balance will properly focus on a government’s general fund. Nonetheless, financial resources available in other funds should also be considered in assessing the adequacy of unrestricted fund balance in the general fund.

2023 TAX DIGEST VALUATION AND REVENUE ANALYSES

The Finance Department has prepared a preliminary analysis of the impact of the 2023 Tax Digest on the Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget. An updated, detailed analysis will be presented as a part of the upcoming First Quarter Review and the setting of the property tax millage rate with final action by the Mayor and Council on October 16, 2023 following the third public hearing.

Real and personal aggregate property values for College Park increased from $1,031,836,400 in 2022 to $1,107,426,363 for 2023, a $67,855,985 or 6.5% valuation increase.

Motor vehicles aggregate property values decreased from $2,221,070 in 2022 to $1.977,230 for 2023, a $243,940 or -11.0% valuation reduction.

Public utility valuation aggregate property values decreased from $228,561,098 in 2022 to $225,352,667 for 2023, a $3,208,431 or -1.4% valuation reduction.

The net tax digest less maintenance and operations exemptions increases from $1,184,074,511 in 2022 to $1,259,166,297 for 2023, an increase of $75,091,786 or 6.3 percent.

As you know, the adjusted assessed valuations were not known when the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget was developed. Budget estimates for property tax revenue relied on a conservative valuation estimate and the currently adopted millage rate of 13.619 mills.

Based on the adjusted assessed valuations from the 2023 Tax Digest and maintaining the currently adopted millage rate of 13.619 mills, the net positive revenue impact from the Adopted Budget estimate is $1,575,702.

Based on the adjusted assessed valuations from the 2023 Tax Digest and reducing the currently adopted millage rate by 1 mill to 12.619 mills, the net positive revenue impact from the Adopted Budget estimate is $318,513.

Preliminary First Quarter Review Budget Modification requests total $8,226,645. Of course, my recommendations will be significantly lower than the request but it is important that the governing body knows the full needs assessment requested by Department Directors. The Community Building Leadership Team and I look forward to the Special Budget Workshop roundtable discussion with you.

AIRPORT AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

OUR COMMUNITY EFFORTS

Learning more about the City of College Park allows understanding and depth of the City’s history, plight and vision. Did you know that the Flint River Headwaters is Georgia’s 2nd largest river and has such regional impact?! Not only that, the Flint flows to the Florida state line and runs under the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta

International Airport for a distance of 1.5 miles of the overall 344 mile river. A walking tour of where it begins in College Park was hosted by the City staff, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and attended by myself, students and a faculty member of Woodward Academy. This project will be important as it implies a need for future discussions with the Airport and neighboring jurisdictions to work together to preserve the Flint River and provide a centerpiece for sustainable development. Learn more at www.findingtheflint.org.

STAKEHOLDER DISCUSSIONS-AN ON-GOING INITIATIVE

Initial “Meet & Greet” discussions with Council Members and Department Directors/designees are scheduled to wrap up the week of October 9th. Brecca Carter is the newest member of the Emergency Management Team, spearheaded by the Fire Rescue and Police Departments. This team discusses improving communication among agencies and Citywide in case of a catastrophic incident.

GEORGIA MUNICIPAL CLERKS CONFERENCE

At the Regular Session of Mayor and Council on September 18, 2023, it was decided to amend the City of College Park’s Core Values to include the word “Transparency”. In 2020, the City of College Park revised its five-year Strategic Plan. With the addition of “Transparency” being added to the already established core values of“Hospitality,” ”Equity and Inclusion,” Advancement,” “Leadership,” “[Transparency and] Professionalism,” and “Harmony,” it completes an acronym, HEALTH.

With a positive and memorable acronym, such as HEALTH, it will be an easy reminder of the values that will drive our community builders each day for the City of College Park and those we serve in the community. Our team has since shared the new core values to the website, social media and staff. The core values will also be featured in the October newsletter.

GEORGIA-JAPAN LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS MEET AND GREET

On September 27, Acting Director Ben Kamber and Main Street Manager Ginger Melton attended the GeorgiaJapan Legislative Caucus Meet & Greet at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC). The GeorgiaJapan Legislative Caucus is an official caucus of state legislators who value the long history between Georgia and Japan. Amongst other functions, the Caucus works to assist in the effort to attract Japanese and other international investment to Geogia and to deepen relationships with Japanese companies in the state. Staff provided an overview of development opportunities within College Park, with a particular focus on the opportunities available within Six West and met with representatives of Japanese-owned businesses and community & economic development leaders in attendance.

TRI-CITIES MIXER

Staff attended the Tri-Cities Main Street Mixer on September 14. The Tri-Cities Mixer is a quarterly networking and informational mixer to bring together small business owners in College Park, East Point and Hapeville.

The September mixer was held in Hapeville at the downtown historic depot museum & visitor center. The mixer provided an opportunity for those small business and community leaders in attendance to collaborate on the common opportunities and challenges that face Main Streets and downtown commercial districts.

NEIGHBORS RESCUED DURING STRUCTURE FIRE

An exhibition of teamwork was on full display when our City of College Park Firefighters and Police Officers worked together in unison to save the lives of eleven residents in the community we serve. On Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 7:29 AM, College Park Fire Rescue (CPFR) was dispatched to a structure fire of a multi-family dwelling on Godby Road. College Park 911 Dispatch Center received

multiple calls reporting heavy smoke showing from a three-story apartment building with several residents trapped inside on the upper floors. Upon arrival, the Officer in charge established “Command” and began to formulate a plan of action. While evaluating the overall situation, he noted that two occupants were trapped on the third floor and were accessible from the balcony of the building. The officer then walked around to the back side of the structure to find several other residents trapped on third floor balconies in need of rescue. The incident commander immediately requested an additional alarm through CPFR’s mutual-aid partnership with the City of South Fulton Fire department to assist in fireground operations. As our fire personnel arrived on scene, the fire steadily intensified causing an imminent need for a speedy rescue. Truck-2, Rescue-1 and Rescue-3 personnel were assigned to the back side of the structure with ground ladders to begin rescue operations. Personnel from Quint-3 utilized their 75’ aerial ladder to gain access to a third-story window on the front of the apartment building. Simultaneously, crews from Engine-1 and South Fulton Fire Rescue suppressed the flames to assist with mitigating the incident. As a result of the fire suppression efforts, four people were able to evacuate through the stairway after the smoke had cleared. With the combined efforts from our College Park Firefighters, Police officers and the South Fulton Fire Rescue, eleven civilians and one dog were safely evacuated from a potentially fatal situation without any casualties.

HUMAN RESOURCES & RISK MANAGEMENT

DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE PROGRAM

Risk Management is also working on implementing a Drug-Free Workplace Program for the City of College Park. This program will be an asset to the City as it helps increase employee productivity. To maintain a successful program, the City must have some aspects in place that it currently practices. These include a Drug-Free Workplace policy, supervisor training, employee education, employee assistance program, and drug testing. The Drug-Free program is designed to provide a safe workplace, discourage alcohol and drug abuse, and encourage treatment, recovery, and the return to work for employees with such abuse problems. This program also helps the City receive a 7.5% premium discount under the workers' compensation insurance policy.

TEAM COLLEGE PARK – NEW HIRES

Below is the newly hired staff effective September 25, 2023.

For full details and additional information about vacancies and employment with the City of College Park can be found on City of College Park Employment Opportunities.

CANON COPIERS

The deployment of all Canon copiers will begin tomorrow. We will be staging all copiers in their designated locations tomorrow. There are 3 locations that will be active tomorrow September 29th. They are as follows: Godby rd. rec. center, Conley rec. center, and Information technology. Finace department has been the test case for I.D. badges and account codes. Users will be able to use either one of these to access their documents from the printer. All users should have received the uniFLOW link to create their account and retreive their access code.

CYBER SECURITY

We have not received the completion rate that we expected from our Cyber Security training session. Our numbers are horrendous and very poor which could lead to a Cyber Attack. My next step is to disable any accounts until the training class is complete.

WINDSTREAM NETWORK UPGRADE UPDATE

We are progressing very well we now have City Hall, Power, Public Works, Brady Recreation Center, Fire Station 2, Public Safety main building. Godby rd. police precinct will be completed tomorrow. Once this is done, we will only have 3 full locations remaining. They are as follows: Godby Rd. recreation center. Fire Station 3 and Conley rec. center. The power warehouse, and water tower installations are not as critical as the other locations.

MASTER THE ART OF COURTROOM EFFECTIVENESS

The Code Enforcement Section will be instituting new performance standards to respond to and resolve code violations more efficiently and effectively. These metrics will focus on proactivity, response times to calls for service, and compliance rates.

PERSONNEL UPDATES

The new Building Inspector/Plan Reviewer started on September 25, 2023.

The new Code Compliance Officer started on September 25, 2023.

CODE ENFORCEMENT

It is fall election season, and the College Park area is seeing a surge in campaign signs as political campaigns gear up for the upcoming November election. As a reminder, it is good to remember the City’s policy regarding campaign signs.

PERMIT INTAKES UPDATE

The Department issued 30 permits valued at $20,469; performed apartment inspections valued at $9865; issued 9 permits for South Park Cottages; and issued one business certificate of occupancy.

Axon has completed the installation of thirty-seven (37) cameras into the Police Department patrol vehicles.

Axon Enterprise Incorporation (Axon) is a manufacturer of conducted electrical weapons. The company provides sensory hardware such as on body cameras, fleet in car video systems, and computer-aided dispatch software. It also provides evidence connected software network, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions and cloud-based records management system.

Axon provides the following services that aid in the support of the daily operations of the Police Department: Body Worn camera multi-Bay Dock System, the Pro license bundle, the Professional evidence.com license, Interview –software streaming server license, Fleet 3 Advanced, 2021 –officer safety plan, and Taser 7.

Special thanks to Officers Balliew and Terry for their diligent assistance in seeing this operation through.

NOTE:

Free steering wheels locks and gun locks can be retrieved at th College Park Police Departmen 3717 College St, College Park, G 30337, between 10:00 am -4:00 pm, Monday -Friday.

Point of Contact: Detective Pamela Edwards

UTILITY COORDINATING COMMITTEE

Representatives from College Park attended the very first South Fulton UCC meeting on September 7 and the monthly Clayton County UCC on September 13. Hugh Richardson, Director of Power, Glenn Spivey, Manager of Operations & Engineering of Power, and Deen Buharie, City Engineer, attended both meetings.

The Clayton County UCC was hosted by College Park at the Atlanta Gas Light facility in Riverdale including a luncheon and a presentation for the participants.

LOTTIE MILLER BOULEVARD

The Power Department will soon be adding street lighting to Lottie Miller Boulevard. Black aluminum poles with light emitting diode (LED) fixtures are already in place at the roundabout and 12 more will be added from Camp Creek Parkway to Redwine Avenue to make the street safer and attractive.

ENGINEERING GUIDANE REBUILDING CANOPY DAMAGED IN RAINSTORM

The collaborative efforts between the Engineering Department and the Code Enforcement Office were crucial in assisting the business owner who sought advice on restoring their canopy, which had sustained significant damage during the recent rainstorm. The structure had been subjected to corrosion, wind and water loads, and punching stress, which collectively compromised the structural integrity of the canopy. This convergence of challenges underscored the urgent need to address the issues promptly and implement the required remediation measures.

ANTICIPATED ROAD CLOSURE FOR THE GATEWAY CONNECTOR BRIDGE PROJECT

Connector Bridge Project. The most current tentative schedule is as follows: The first closure is tentatively planned for the weekend of November 3rd to the 6th, followed by full road closures along Camp Creek Parkway, tentatively scheduled from November 17th to the 20th of this year.

It is essential to recognize that logistical challenges are tied to the bridge manufacturer's location in Houston, Texas. Simultaneously, efforts continue to resolve complexities related to welding the arch legs and x-piece of the bridge. This welding work must undergo rigorous inspection and approval by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). We anticipate that GDOT representatives will promptly travel to Houston to facilitate the inspection and approval process, ensuring adherence to the project schedule.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

RECRUITMENT

We are still looking to fill open positions within our department and are actively reviewing and interviewing interested applicants. As you know our department is short-staffed and in need of additional headcount to meet the landscaping needs of our city.

HIGHWAYS, STREET, AND STORM WATERS

As you move around our city, you’ll notice several amenities that revolve around our citizens safety. From various initiatives such as sidewalk repairs and damaged sewer drains, we also have handrails.

These handrails provide support and stability for people in different spaces and situations. They can be used to prevent injuries, falls, and assist in mobility. This team was assigned to repair and refurbish the handrails located on Napoleon and Lyle Avenue. See below the before and after.

KEEP COLLEGE PARK BEAUTIFUL

Keep College Park Beautiful and Woodward Academy organized the first Sustainability Day in College Park. Instead of discarding furniture from their classrooms and housing units, Woodward Academy collaborated with KCPB to host two sustainability days. Over 300 pieces of furniture, including file cabinets, tables, desks and chairs, computer tables, student desks, bookshelves, and household furniture were made available to the public for free. The only responsibility of the person receiving the items was to remove them from the property.

[PARKS]RECREATION AND CULTURAL ARTS

ATLANTA BRAVES FOUNDATION DONATION

The Braves Foundation is also committed to granting support to Historically Black College Universities (HBCU) with an emphasis on programming. The Recreation and Cultural Arts Department has partnered with Clark Atlanta University, a Historically Black College and University, to provide field use of the Bill Evans Field for their practices and home games since the mid 1990’s. Prior to Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic Games, grant funding was awarded to the City to revitalize the field, thereby allowing Clark Atlanta to call the field home.

With this commitment the Braves Foundation has donated a new batting practice turtle for Evans Field for Clark Atlanta University use in the amount of $6,307. The new batting practice turtle has been delivered and assembly is imminent for the University to use.

ATHONY EDWARDS FREE BASKETBALL CAMP

On Saturday, September 23, 2023, Anthony Edwards offered a free basketball camp from 11:00 AM-2:00 PM at the Tracey Wyatt Recreation Center. This is the third annual basketball camp offered at the center for the youth. There were over 100 participants, and each participant was given free adidas basketball shoes, a backpack, socks, t-shirt, and other give away items.

Anthony Edwards comes back to the Wyatt Center due to the feeling of being at home because he trained under a former City of College Park Recreation and Cultural Arts Recreation Leader, Justin Holland in high school. This free basketball camp was well attended and is a great community building partnership for the City of College Park.

The full and complete City Manager's biweekly Strategic Performance Report is available online at: www.collegeparkga.com

Very truly yours,

Stanley D Hawthorne

City Manager | City of

College

Park

3667 Main Street | College Park, GA | 30337