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City Officials Complete Georgia Municipal Association Human Resources Administration Certificate Program
Eighteen officials from cities across Georgia recently completed the Georgia Municipal Association’s (GMA) Human Resources Administration Certificate (HRAC) program, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to successfully recruit, train and retain top talent for their communities.
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THIS FIVE-CLASS HRAC COURSE WAS HELD IN Duluth and instructed by GMA staff. In addition to teaching how best to build a strong team of city employees, HRAC also expands upon previous GMA human resources trainings. Upon completion of the course, participants should: • Understand all relevant employment laws; • Understand the importance of recruiting, onboarding and professional development in attracting and retaining the right people for the right job; • Understand how to compensate and provide benefits to employees; • Understand how to develop personnel policies; and • Understand how to address employee performance and workplace culture. Any elected or appointed city official can take the course, but it is specifically targeted for city clerks, department heads and mayors and councilmembers who may have to address human resources administration. The courses required to earn the HRA certificate are: • Personnel Law • Talent Management • Performance Management • Compensation & Benefits • Personnel Policies
GMA is proud of each participant in the HRAC program for furthering their professional education and serving Georgia’s cities.
GMA’s Larry Hanson Named Among Georgia’s 500 Most Influential Leaders
In October, GMA Executive Director and CEO Larry Hanson was named as one of Georgia’s 500 most influential leaders in the Georgia 500, produced by Georgia Trend magazine.
THE LIST HONORS LEADERS WHO EMBODY THE innovation, vitality and success of Georgia’s business community.
Hanson shares the honor with prominent Georgians including Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Delta CEO Ed Bastian and Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Truett Cathy. Hanson’s tireless advocacy for Georgia’s cities, strong leadership of GMA and dedication to excellence earned him the prestigious recognition. Hanson has been CEO and executive director of GMA for five years, taking the helm in 2017. Before, he was a career public servant, working as the city manager of Valdosta for more than 22 years. Since joining GMA, Hanson has overseen major projects including the expansion and renovation of GMA’s downtown Atlanta headquarters and the creation of a robust equity and inclusion program.
GMA Adds 18 New Staff Members in 2022
GMA’s human resources department had a busy 2022, with 18 new hires joining the team.
THESE NEW ADDITIONS SPAN ALMOST EVERY departmentand every level on the organizational chart. Multiple new positions were added in 2022, allowing GMA’s staff to grow past 100. GMA is glad to enter 2023 with a strong team of employees old and new.
Leon Henderson - Building Services Manager Kishina Geathers - Health Benefits Specialist Sadie Krawczyk - Managing Director of GeorgiaForward and Placemaking Rodline Africo-Prado - Conference and Events Coordinator Renee Coakley - Community and Economic Development Program Coordinator Latisha Gray - Director of Communications Jan Hoard - Claims Manager and Services Coordinator Coleman Williams - Retirement Benefit Analyst Hailey Guerrasio - Guest Services Coordinator Dagmar Wuertzen - Health Benefits Specialist Alexandra Campos Castillo - Program Manager of Georgia City Solutions Aviva Kerven - Risk Management Specialist Carolina Ochoa - Administrative Technician for Finance and Accounting Pete Pyrzenski - Member Services Consultant Kendall Daniels - Governmental Outreach Specialist Jim Thornton - Director of Governmental Relations Kevin Jeselnik - Assistant General Counsel Leona Rittenhouse - Governmental Relations Associate Exceeding Expectations in Government Services
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GeorgiaForward Prepares for Next Young Gamechangers Class in Columbus
GeorgiaForward’s flagship program, Young Gamechangers (YG) is an immersive and impactful leadership-action program that brings together 45 professionals ages 25-40 each year to help solve the persistent challenges of one Georgia community.
EACH YG CLASS IS COMPRISED OF PARTICIPANTS FROM THE HOST
community, from metro Atlanta and from greater Georgia. with emphasis on including participants from as many regions as possible.
In addition to leadership development and network-building, YG participants have the unique opportunity to work on of-the-moment local issues with peers who come from very different worlds within Georgia.
A successful Young Gamechangers program is built on three pillars: broad community support and buy-in; a strong and collaborative relationship between city and county government; and an openness to big new ideas.
Class participants tackle real community and economic development issues with colleagues from across the state, building up civic engagement tools like collaboration, compromise, and negotiation.
The Young Gamechangers participants receive expansive, multi-faceted leadership development on three levels: • Traditional training such as networking, personal assessments, and education; • On-the-ground community and economic development training through engaging with the real problems and real people of a particular place – and seeing real impact from their work; • Training and practice in critical civic health skills such as a greater understanding and openness to other points of view, building broad alliances, and negotiating across divides. Columbus’s Host Committee will present Young Gamechangers with four “challenge questions” addressing significant challenges or possibilities of the community. Each class does extensive research to generate big idea recommendations based on the host community’s specific needs. They present their recommendations, along with a comprehensive report, at the end of their project. GeorgiaForward is in the process now of selecting the young professionals from across the State of Georgia to serve in the 2023 Young Gamechangers (YG) program for Columbus/Muscogee County.
If your community is interested in hosting a future Young Gamechangers program, please reach out to Sadie Krawczyk (skrawczyk@gacities.com) for an introductory discussion.
Americus-Sumter County Dublin-Laurens County Douglasville-Douglas County Augusta-Richmond County LaGrange-Troup County Milledgeville-Baldwin County Albany-Dougherty County Monroe-Walton County Dalton-Whitfield County.
PREVIOUS YOUNG GAMECHANGERS HOST COMMUNITIES
2022 Young Gamechangers in Dalton/Whitfield County, Georgia
When it comes to securing your municipality’s data and information, relying on firewalls, antivirus software, and secure remote connections is simply not enough. Why?
CYBERCRIMINALS CAN SIMPLY TRICK EMPLOYEES and bypass your cybersecurity tools and solutions. Contrary to popular belief, most cyberattacks are not sophisticated technical hacks. Instead, cyberattackers often use social engineering to trick people—making the actions of your employees one of the greatest risks to your municipality. In fact, 95% of cybersecurity attacks begin in an email.
That’s not to say your employees are intentionally allowing cyberattacks. Employees are professional, smart, and trusted. However, we all get distracted and busy. As social engineering attacks increase in sophistication, a single mistake such as sharing personally identifiable information (PII) through a phishing email is all it takes for a data breach to occur.
All municipalities, no matter their size, are at risk for experiencing a cybersecurity attack caused by an employee. But how can you keep your employees accountable for securing sensitive data if they are not aware of the risks?
Security awareness training is a comprehensive, continuous program that trains individuals to recognize common cyber threats, understand the consequences of a cyberattack, and learn about ways to prevent a cyberattack.
At a minimum, security awareness training should include: • Phishing simulation emails (ideally monthly) that test employees’ abilities to spot and defeat cyberattacks.
Fake but realistic-looking phishing emails will land in an employee’s email inbox. Will the employee click or not? Identifying employees who may be more
likely to click gives you the opportunity to provide them extra training. • Ongoing training (such as through videos) to help employees learn about the latest phishing and social engineering scams, attacks, and trends. • Dashboards and reporting tools to grade employees and provide extra help to those who seem to get tricked more than others or fall behind in the training.
If employees know more about how cyber threats can compromise a municipality, they will be more engaged in spotting those threats. Employee security awareness training is one of the best and most cost-effective cybersecurity investments you will make. With an employee security awareness training program in place, you not only increase employee knowledge and confidence but also establish a culture of security within your municipality.
GMA is now helping municipalities address this problem with a new program called Cyber Aware that offers: • Monthly video training where employees learn about the latest phishing and social engineering trends. • Monthly phishing simulations that test what employees have learned in the videos and strengthen your employees’ ability to spot phishing attempts. They will receive fake but realistic-looking phishing emails to help them more quickly identify common phishing attacks and social engineering attempts. • Dashboards and reporting to note training progress, identify employees who click on phishing emails, and track metrics for compliance purposes.
Municipal Training Board Updates Credit Policy
The Municipal Training Board recently adopted several new policies following its two-day retreat at the University of Georgia this past October.
BEGINNING IN JANUARY 2023, OFFICIALS MAY receive additional credit hours for retaking up to any two classes a calendar year in the Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute’s curriculum, so long as the recipient has not received credit for the class within the last five years. For example, if a member took Planning and Zoning in January 2017, the member could earn an additional six hours for completing the class in 2023. The Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute is operated through a partnership between GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Oversight is provided by the Municipal Training Board.
“Things change and best practices evolve,” said Pembroke Mayor Pro Tem Tiffany Zeigler, chair of the Municipal Training Board. “We thought it prudent to have members be able to re-take a couple of classes a year for credit to ensure training participants stay up to date on the latest policies and procedures.”
Additionally, the training board discussed the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. The academy has revamped its curriculum and the training board voted to allow academy alumni to take the academy again and earn an additional 12 hours of credit towards a training certificate.
“In December 2019, the Georgia Academy for Economic Development’s (the academy) curriculum committee met and overhauled the whole curriculum,” explained Corinne Thornton, Director, Office of Regional Services with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and DCA’s representative on the Municipal Training Board. “We wanted to take a good program and make it better and more relevant for the 21st century.”
To now graduate from the academy, participants must complete “The Essentials” course and three advanced topic courses. The Essentials course is economic development foundation that helps anyone get up to speed on economic development principles and topics. The advanced topics include Traditional Economic Development and Incentives, Housing 101 and 102, and Workforce & Career Readiness. Thornton said housing and workforce development were not part of the conversation a decade ago but now both topics have huge impacts on economic development.
The Training Board has also moved the Information Privacy and Security Breaches: Prevention and Response class from the elective list to the required list for credit towards training certificates.
“Cities collect and store highly sensitive data and ransomware and other malicious attacks on IT resources and exposure of sensitive data are significant and pervasive threats to cities and their residents,” explained GMA Senior Associate General Counsel Alison Earles, who is the lead instructor for the class. “Protecting city assets from threats is a core obligation of city leaders, and this class prepares city leaders to meet this obligation.”
Stay Up to Date On Funding Opportunities
There are many grant programs that cities may qualify for, but it’s not always easy to seek them out or know if your city is eligible. That’s where GMA comes in.
GMA HOSTS A DIGITAL HUB FOR GRANTS benefiting municipal governments on its website, gacities.com. This allows 24/7 access to details about possible funding opportunities and answers to key questions including criteria, deadlines and match requirements.
Funders include federal and state agencies like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and private organizations like Bloomberg Philanthropies. Opportunities are posted as GMA becomes aware of them, so there are always new opportunities to get funding for a necessary project, an exciting new idea or improvements.
But you don’t have to constantly refresh the page to learn about these opportunities. You can opt in to receiving an email every day that a new opportunity is posted. Emails are sent once daily at maximum, and only when new grants are added to the website. If you see something that could be a perfect fit for your city’s needs, you’ll have plenty of time to jump on it and craft the perfect proposal.
Access the grant listings and sign up for email alerts at www.gacities.com/Resources/ Grants-and-Award-Opportunities.
Partnerships Lead Georgia City Solutions to Success
BY KAY LOVE, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GCS
Strong, vibrant, and well-managed cities are essential to the quality of life and prosperity of the state of Georgia.
IT IS THIS STATEMENT THAT MOTIVATES US AND guides our strategic actions to deliver programs and initiatives that help cities address the challenges of intergenerational poverty. To do this, it takes strategic collaborations, partnerships, and funding support. The degree to which Georgia City Solutions (GCS) is successful in reaching our fundraising goals is the degree to which we can support and amplify these programs and initiatives.
GCS takes the trust our partners, funders, and supporters place in us very seriously and we carefully allocate funds to programs in three focus areas including equity and inclusion (E&I), municipal workforce development, and youth leadership and engagement. GCS is helping cities create a path forward with a unique approach of scaling, replicating, and customizing programs to suit the needs of each municipal government and partner organization we work with.
One of the ways GCS raises funds and awareness about our mission is through an annual golf tournament. This year, the tournament went down south to the city of Thomasville. On Oct. 17, 80 golfers teed off under sunny skies at the Country Oaks Golf Course for a purpose-driven, fun-filled day of golf. Thanks to the help of sponsors, volunteers and the city of Thomasville, the tournament was successful in raising $41,000 for GCS programs and initiatives.
Continuing with the plan to move the tournament location around the state to highlight municipal golf courses, the 2023 tournament will be held on Monday, Oct. 16 at The Chimneys Golf Course in Winder.
A huge thank you to our 2022 Golf Tournament sponsors and supporters who share our belief that every city deserves the opportunity to reach its full potential. Space does not allow us to list every person and organization who made this year’s tournament successful.
Event Sponsors: Drew, Eckl & Farnham Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & Wilson, LLP Oliver Maner LLP
Platinum Sponsors: Fulcher Hagler, LLP Young Thagard Hoffman, LLP
Silver Sponsors: Alexander & Vann American Signature Bennett Law Office, LLC Carothers & Mitchell, LLC Chambless, Higdon, Richardson, Katz & Griggs, LLP City of Thomasville CNSNext Do Process Gray, Rust, St. Amand, Moffett & Brieske, LLP James Bates Brannan Groover LLP Keck & Wood, Inc. Lockton Companies Nexus Property Management, LLC PlaySouth Playground Creators Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers, LLP
Other Sponsors: Parker Young Construction, Georgia Beverage Association, Bradford Settlement Company, Corvel, Falcon Design Consultants, Georgia 811, ESG Operations, Hood Industries, Genex, TNT Supercenter.
Fundraising is important. However, raising awareness and engaging partners in this critical work is equally important. We need ambassadors to help spread the word about GCS by using their influence and following to elevate the GCS mission. You can be an ambassador by following GCS on Facebook and LinkedIn and encouraging your colleagues, family and friends to do the same. Commenting on one of our posts or sharing a post that interests you will help leverage our efforts.
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Youth Symposium Brings Present and Future Leaders Together
The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), Georgia City Solutions (GCS), and the city of Dublin hosted a youth symposium Oct. 14-16.
THIS THREE-DAY EVENT IN DUBLIN BROUGHT together youth councils from across the state, giving them the opportunity to learn from professionals, network, share their youth council work and participate in hands-on workshops.
Friday night, the participants convened in downtown Dublin and visited the Red Dot Axehouse for an evening of networking, axe throwing and other fun and games. On Saturday morning, Alexandra Campos Castillo, GCS Program Manager, kicked the day off with an introduction of the keynote speaker, Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson, II. He spoke to the group on commitment, connections and communication, and emphasized the importance of networking and ensuring that they took advantage of the opportunities presented to them for the weekend.
Next, each of the youth councils presented on their activities for the past year and shared information on upcoming programs and events. Tonia W. Spaulding and Bruce Howard from the Dublin City School System Behavioral Health Department did a presentation on youth and mental health titled “Change Your Mind, Change Your Mindset.” This session focused on skills youth could utilize to take charge of their thoughts and behaviors and to be aware of how their thoughts drive them to do certain things.
Chick-fil-A Marketing Director Ivey Grace Smith did a presentation on Chick-fil-A’s Customer Service Philosophy and provided soft skills that youth can utilize in the workplace.
Next, the youth council groups heard a panel discussion with local entrepreneur Brandon Chain and previous Dublin youth council member Elisabeth Brooks. They provided advice on starting a business, taking advantage of the experience of being a part of a youth council, and lessons learned.
Kay Love, GCS Managing Director, made a presentation on city budgeting. The youth councils then presented their own budget recommendations in a budgeting exercise. The evening was completed with a “Monster Bash” hosted at Market on Madison with a DJ, costume contest and train ride through downtown Dublin.
Sunday morning the twelve youth council groups participated in a mock Teen Court session hosted by Dublin-Laurens County Teen Court with Judge Cheryl Banks Hightower presiding and delivering a motivational speech, “Who Am I” that described personality styles of birds in relation to youth leadership.
“This event allowed young leaders of Georgia to network, learn from professionals, and inspire action in each other. The skills learned and ideas stimulated through this event will not only benefit those who attended but will be put into practice to benefit the entire communities of the attendees,” said Semaj Johnson II, Walking In Authority Teen Council.
Plans are underway for the next symposium that will take place in the fall of 2023 in a host city.
If your city has a youth council, has attended a previous youth symposium, and is interested in hosting a future youth symposium, please contact GMA Member Services Consultant Artiffany Stanley at astanley@gacities.com.
GMA Represents at National League of Cities 2022 City Summit
Williams Completes Presidential Term, Staff and City Leaders Share Expertise
GMA CONSTANTLY STRIVES TO PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICES
to municipalities in the country. The National League of Cities’ (NLC) City Summit is an annual opportunity to showcase that and learn from our peers in 48 other states (fun fact: Hawaii does not have a municipal league).
Leadership
This City Summit was extra special for GMA. It was the first in-person City Summit since the beginning of the pandemic, and it was an opportunity to celebrate GMA Immediate Past President Vince Williams’ term as NLC President. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams was sworn in for his presidential term at GMA headquarters in November 2021.
In passing on the presidential role to Tacoma, Washington Mayor Victoria Woodards, Williams now holds two immediate past president roles. Former GMA President and LaGrange Mayor Jim Thornton was GMA’s immediate past president from June until his hiring as GMA’s director of governmental relations in November, which necessitated his resignation as mayor and from the board. As the next most recent president, Williams assumed the immediate past president role he held for the 2021-2022 board term.
In Williams’ leadership roles with GMA and NLC, he has been a key advocate for cities in our nation’s capital. He participated in lobbying efforts for legislation including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the American Rescue Plan Act and the CARES Act, which have delivered billions to Georgia and cities across the country.
GMA’s representation on the NLC Board of Directors continues with Fairburn Mayor Pro Tem Hattie Portis-Jones and Atlanta Councilmember Byron Amos.
Highlights
• GMA staff members and city leaders had the opportunity to fellowship as well as participate in various NLC Summit events. Here are a few of the highlights: • The Georgia delegation, which included dozens of city leaders and
GMA staff, kicked off the Summit by gathering for a reception to celebrate outgoing NLC President and Union City Mayor Vince Williams. GMA CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson and NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony shared inspiring remarks about their experiences with Williams. • Governmental Relations Associate Demetris Causer participated in a panel on housing and homelessness, issues he’s followed as part of his role with GMA. • Director of Strategic Initiatives Brian Wallace utilized his experience working with Georgia City Solutions and GMA’s equity and inclusion initiatives on the panel, “Making Cities Work for Everyone:
Equity-Focused Approaches to Improve Well-being in Cities.” • City of Marietta Councilmember Joseph Goldstein, Augusta Mayor
Hardie Davis, and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson II participated on various NLC committees. • East Point Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham shared her experiences with sustainable infrastructure in a workshop entitled, “Sustainable Infrastructure Investments in a Changing Climate.” • Savannah Mayor Van Johnson II shared his experiences and thoughts on the panel, “Embracing Innovation in a Time of
Challenge.” • Third Vice President and College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom combined the topics of housing and equity in her panel presentation. Broom discussed the issue of corporate buyouts of housing and its impacts on cities and residents. • Our Georgian delegation participated in workshops, meetings, general sessions, events and more. GMA is proud of all who positively represented Georgia at the NLC City Summit.
Training Classes Aim to Help City Officials Understand Money Matters
The Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute has an array of classes designed to help city officials understand municipal revenue and finance policies and procedures.
THE TRAINING INSTITUTE IS OPERATED THROUGH a partnership between GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Want to learn how to budget for future capital improvements? Take the threehour Capital Improvement Program class. The class also includes discussions on creating a Capital improvement Program (CIP), incorporating capital asset requests, the decision-making process and what to consider when funding capital asset improvements.
Offered: June 24, during GMA’s Annual Convention. This class is also offered as an online-on-demand class, Savannah.
Want a better understanding of the full array of transportation funding options for road, bridges, transit, sidewalks, trail and bike lane projects? Take the three-hour Funding and Programming Transportation Projects in Your Community class. Key components of project management are also discussed during the class, including public engagement, project design, right-of-way acquisition, public utility relocation and construction start and conclusion.
Offered: June 27, during GMA’s Annual Convention , Savannah.
Want to better understand municipal revenue sources, purchasing policies and financing capital improvements? Take the six-hour Municipal Finance I and Municipal Finance II classes. Participants should leave the classes with a better understanding of how to read financial statements and assess the effectiveness of internal accounting controls. There is also a discussion on the laws and rules that govern financial accountability for cities.
Offered: Municipal Finance I, Jan 21, during GMA’s Cities United Summit, Atlanta Municipal Finance II, April 14, during Spring Training, Athens.
Want to learn more about the municipal budget process? Take the six-hour Municipal Long-Term Budgeting class. The class stresses the importance of budgeting strategically, and participants leave the class better equipped to identify long-term budget costs and maintain financial sustainability.
Offered: January 20, during GMA’s Cities United Summit, Atlanta.
Want to learn the fundamentals of local government taxation with an in-depth look at the two primary sources for local government in Georgia: property tax (real and personal) and sales tax, including Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)? Take the three-hour Municipal Taxation 101—The Basics class. There is also a discussion of the appropriate use of tax revenue and best practices for communicating tax issues to residents. Take the
Municipal Taxation 102—The Basics Continued class to learn about excise taxes related to alcohol, lodging, rental vehicles and energy used in manufacturing as well as business occupation tax.
Offered: Municipal Taxation 101—Jan 20, during GMA’s Cities United Summit, Atlanta Municipal Taxation 102 –June 24, during GMA’s Annual Convention , Savannah.
Want to learn how to obtain additional grant and loan opportunities for your city? Take the six-hour Money, Money, Money…Money! Funding City Projects and Programs Through Grants and Loans class. The class also details some of the state, federal and foundation funding sources available to Georgia cities and offers advice on how to write strong grant applications.
Offered: June 23, during GMA’s Annual Convention, Savannah.
Want to better understand the fundamental methods of issuing debt in Georgia? Take the three-hour Local Government Debt Methods 101 class. The class also examines basic public finance principles, legal requirements and prohibitions and various financing methods for capital improvement projects.
Offered: June 24, during GMA’s Annual Convention, Savannah. This class is also offered as an online-on-demand class.
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Cairo Partners With Entrepreneurs To Preserve City Landmark
Restaurant opens in 117-year-old former train depot
IN CAIRO, CITY LEADERS HAVE FOUND A way to preserve their past while moving the city’s downtown forward.
For more than a century, Cairo’s train depot has stood downtown. After passenger trains no longer stopped at the depot, it was turned into Cairo’s police station, and remained so for decades. But when the police department needed to move to a new space, Cairo officials didn’t want the train depot to sit empty or be at risk of demolition.
The city’s building department took the lead on figuring out the train depot’s next chapter. They decided to explore a partnership with the private sector and put out a request for proposals. The only criteria?
“Any ideas that could benefit downtown,” said Julian Brown, Cairo city manager.
The winning idea was a pizza restaurant and bar, now open as First and Broad Pizza Company. The city has retained ownership of the building while working with the pizzeria’s owners on making the building suitable for a modern restaurant. Georgia’s Cities spoke with Brown about this first-of-its-kind project, and what it means for Cairo.
GC: How did the idea of transforming it into a restaurant space come about? JB: The city advertised for RFPs. This city was open to any ideas that could benefit downtown. The city council approved leasing the space to First and Broad Pizza Company GC: What role has the building department played in this process? JB: The building department has acted as the contractors for this project and they have done a lot of the physical work. Apart from using licensed plumbers, electricians, HVAC, etc., the building department has transformed the building. They want to make this a unique and successful project.
GC: Is this the first project of its type for Cairo? Do you think this will lead to more like it? JB: This is the first project of this type for Cairo. I do believe there will be more like it. Cairo has been able to save a lot of money using our own employees to do contracting work.
GC: What role will the city have with the depot once it is operational as a restaurant? JB: The city will act as a traditional landlord. The city will collect rent monthly and will be responsible for maintaining the structure of the building.
GC: How much did this project cost the city? Was there a balance of public and private funding? JB: The city invested around $280,000 into the project. The pizza company invested into things outside of the building, but I do not have an amount.
Governmental Relations News
Preparing for a Legislature Full of New Faces
WITH ALL 236 LEGISLATIVE SEATS ON THIS YEAR’S electoral ballot, GMA’s government relations team has been preparing for a legislature with plenty of new faces. At the beginning of the 2023 legislative session, there will be approximately 60 new legislators, with approximately 20 new legislators in the House alone. With a new House speaker to be sworn in and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan not seeking reelection, both chambers will have new leadership – Lt. Governor-elect Burt Jones in the Senate and a speaker to be elected Jan. 9 in the House. GMA’s government relations team has met the challenge of developing relationships with new and returning legislators with enthusiasm. Still, with the assistance and involvement of city officials, staff will be better positioned to strengthen relationships with legislators going into the 2023 legislative session. Now is a perfect time to reach out to your state legislators, both new and old, to speak about the work your city does as well as the challenges you are facing.
GMA Offers Input for Legislative Study Committees
OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, STAFF HAS WORKED diligently to track and monitor study several committees. The list of study committees includes the House Study Committee on Regulation, Affordability and Access to Housing; the Senate Study Committee on Unsheltered Homelessness; the Joint Study Committee on the Electrification of Transportation; the Senate Study Committee on the Creation of a Georgia Cybersecurity Force; and the Senate Study Committee on Development and Downtown Development Authorities.
On several occasions, GMA presented testimony at these committee meetings. Government Relations Associate Noah Roenitz, and Director of Government Relations Jim Thornton testified before the House Study Committee on Regulation, Affordability and Access to Housing. Government Relations Associate DeMetris Causer and Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz also testified before the Senate Study Committee on Unsheltered Homelessness. As each committee’s work draws to a close, staff will continue to follow along, assess, and share any relevant recommendations they find.
A FAMILIAR FACE IS NOW LEADING GMA’S government relations team. Jim Thornton, former LaGrange mayor and GMA president, assumed the role of director of governmental relations in November. In addition to his tenure as a mayor and councilmember, Thornton also has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney. GMA is pleased to welcome Thornton into this role, as his irreplaceable experience as a local elected official will allow him to communicate the needs of Georgia’s cities with authority and aplomb.
Remembering Speaker David Ralston
ON NOV. 16, GEORGIA LOST A LEGISLATIVE GIANT. Speaker David Ralston died at 68 years old just 12 days after announcing he would step down from his leadership role. His legislative career spanned almost 26 years in both legislative chambers, but he built a legacy in the House of Representatives. He was first elected to the Georgia House in 2002 and in 2010 became Speaker of the House. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving speaker in Georgia’s history.
But his longevity was not his only notable accomplishment. Ralston was known for his dedication to common sense legislation that touched Georgians’ everyday lives and transcended political lines. Ralston was respected by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for his work on issues including the passage of Georgia’s hate crime law, comprehensive mental health reform and funding for local law enforcement. Ralston was also a friend to GMA and Georgia’s cities, often supporting legislation that protected local control. GMA was honored to welcome Ralston to speak at events including the Cities United Summit. GMA and Georgia’s cities mourn the loss of this legislative leader.
