I want to invite you personally to join me, my family, and neighbors of yours and mine from all across our DeKalb County community when I publicly announce my candidacy for Chief Executive Officer. I hope you will join us because, working together, we can build a new consensus for a better DeKalb.

Our campaign kickoff will be Thursday, January 24, with a reception beginning at 5:15. We'll have a short speech or two, beginning just before 6. Join us to help make your priorities heard. This campaign will be all about Making Your Priorities DeKalb County's Priority, and your being there will send a positive message.

We'll gather at the Holiday Inn in downtown Decatur, 130 Clairemont Avenue, close by Clairemont’s intersection with Ponce de Leon, near MARTA:

For further information or to make your voice heard, email me by clicking here or phone me at home; my home phone number is 770-469-5948.

Grady Hospital and its finances have been in the news. I am offering a Resolution to the County Commission that calls on the Governor and the General Assembly of the State of Georgia to fund state health care coverage programs at levels adequate to ensure the solvency of Grady Hospital. You can read my Resolution by clicking here.

Inadequate funding by the State of Georgia of its Medicaid program and of programs to extend health care coverage to the uninsured and the underinsured has undermined Grady Hospital’s financial viability. Adequate funding is required for Grady Hospital’s long-term solvency.

What the Governor and the State Legislature have been doing is outsourcing their health care budget deficit to Grady.

The Medicaid program administered by the State of Georgia reimburses Grady Hospital for only approximately 85% of the costs of caring for patients covered by Medicaid. The hospital wrote off approximately $144 million in charges for Medicaid patients in 2005. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently published an informative editorial on this subject, which you can read here.

Grady serves as a safety net for patients who are uninsured or underinsured, a population that is large and growing. The hospital provided at least $70 million in unreimbursed care to uninsured and underinsured patients in 2005. The Governor and the General Assembly have failed to extend health care coverage to the uninsured and underinsured comparable to the levels of coverage achieved in many other states.

The State Legislature can fix the Medicaid reimbursement rate and can make a good start on expanding health care coverage to the uninsured as soon as they reconvene in January. By facing up to their obligations, the Governor and the Legislature would save Georgia’s most important trauma care center and protect the hard-working tax-paying citizens of DeKalb County.

Grady Hospital faces an immediate fiscal crisis, so we need a signal right now from the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the State House that they are going to act. DeKalb County needs to hear from them before we decide on a plan of action to save Grady. My Resolution calls on them at the earliest opportunity to make a public commitment to fund state health care coverage programs at levels adequate to ensure the solvency of Grady Hospital.

It's time for the Governor and the State Legislature to live up to their responsibilities.

Revisions to the Form of Government Proposed

State Senator Emanuel Jones, joined by Senators David Adelman, Daniel Weber, and Curt Thompson, has introduced a bill to amend our county’s form of government. Under Senator Jones’ bill, the CEO would no longer preside over the Commission’s meetings or set its agenda; the Commission, which is the legislative branch of our county government, would operate more independently (as do comparable legislative bodies in other large urban cities and counties). The voters of DeKalb County would have to vote to approve these changes before they go into effect. To read the bill, go to http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/mbrs/jonesemanuel10th.htm and look for “SB 52.”

While this appears to be a reasonable approach to balancing the powers of county government, its implementation (which is not addressed in Senator Jones’ bill) could be costly to taxpayers and disruptive to the delivery of essential services. For example, DeKalb County department heads currently report directly to the CEO, while the County Clerk and Executive Assistant report to both the CEO and the Commission. This means that during the transition the Commission could be hampered in its ability to obtain information necessary in setting its own agenda. These sorts of things need to be addressed in any major change in our governmental structure.

It may be wise to study the procedures of other large local governments that operate with separate independent branches, such as Wayne County (Michigan) and Montgomery County (Maryland), before taking steps that could have a permanent impact on our bottom line.

An alternative, less expensive, and less disruptive approach involves the Commission’s full exercise of its nineteen enumerated powers under our county government’s current structure, including the power to audit agencies and departments of county government. Under my leadership as Presiding Officer of your County Commission, we have engaged the Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG) of the University of Georgia to draft a reorganization plan for better operation and oversight by the Commission. CVIOG’s recommendations were adopted by the Board in 2005, with the first action being to hire a Chief of Staff to report directly to the Commission. In 2006, the Commission hired its first Chief of Staff, who then moved quickly to develop further a reorganization implementation plan consisting of strong centralized staff resources available to be utilized by all the Commissioners. These resources are resulting in better oversight, more thorough checks and balances, greater independence, and more efficient delivery of services by the Board of Commissioners.

Commission not provided key information

Late in 2006, I called upon the County’s Executive Assistant to brief the Board of Commissioners in an open meeting on the status of administrative action regarding shootings by police officers. You can read the text of my letter as well as the CEO’s written response below.

Since then, the newly appointed Police Chief has announced that he will summon monitors from state and federal law enforcement agencies to the scene of any future incident and include them in the investigation. While I applaud an effort to move in the general direction of more open and transparent government, it is still essential that the administration fully brief the members of your County Commission in an open meeting on the status of these investigations. This would provide an essential component in the process: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.

Commissioner Burrell Ellis has called upon the CEO to brief the Board of Commissioners on the status of inquiries regarding shootings by police officers. Here is how the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on his request.

To read Commissioner Burrell Ellis' request for information on recent police shootings in DeKalb County, click here.
To read CEO Vernon Jones's reply, click here.
To read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's continuing coverage, please click here.

The Local Small Business Enterprise Ordinance, sponsored by Commissioner Burrell Ellis and originally adopted by the Board of Commissioners in 2001, is designed to create opportunities for DeKalb County small business owners to compete for county contracts, many of which are worth multi-millions of dollars. While the original ordinance was well-intended, the income limitations placed upon smaller businesses made it virtually impossible, in many instances, for a legitimate smaller business to compete for a large county contract. Commissioner Ellis brought these issues to the forefront and championed the need for further reform. By expanding the definition of "local small business enterprises" and increasing the income cap, we are now able to reach out to more entrepreneurs and provide them with opportunities to grow their businesses and improve our quality of life, while, at the same time, shift more of the tax burden from homeowners to these new businesses.

In 2002, DeKalb County became the first local government in Georgia to adopt a comprehensive Clean Indoor Air Ordinance, a bold move which inspired other local governments and, ultimately, the State of Georgia to follow suit. Commissioner Burrell Ellis was the sponsor and champion of that legislation.

That was a good first step; however, thousands of families and workers in DeKalb remain susceptible to the dangers of secondhand smoke. In October 2006, just in time for the Great American Smokeout, Commissioner Burrell Ellis introduced the Revised Clean Air Act to provide further protections, including a 100% ban on smoking in all indoor public places as well as in public parks. The National Zoo in Washington, D.C. recently followed Commissioner Ellis' lead by banning smoking in that park. Studies show that smoking bans increase sales in restaurants, promote tourism, and encourage more citizens to enjoy public spaces.

Unfortunately, the Revised Clean Air Act was vetoed by the CEO, but Commissioner Burrell Ellis vows to continue to work with the Commission to promote a veto-proof ordinance that will ensure healthy breathing for all DeKalb citizens.

The DeKalb District Attorney’s office has announced that a Special Grand Jury will be convened to investigate 14 officer-involved shootings in DeKalb County and one in-custody death. Twelve fatal shootings by DeKalb officers have occurred this year, more than most other cities and counties. The Grand Jury, which will be composed of DeKalb citizens, will provide an independent review of the facts surrounding the shootings and may make recommendations.

Commissioner Burrell Ellis, in response to illnesses and in some instances deaths, recently sponsored an ordinance to protect youth from risks of illness occurring from sports activities when the heat index is at 95 or above. Strenuous outdoor activities as well as indoor activities in facilities without air conditioning (including practices) cannot be held when temperatures reach levels that put health at risk. The Board of Health and the Recreation Department are initiating an education campaign to let everyone involved know.

August 1 was National Night Out. Commissioner Burrell Ellis participated in the event by visiting communities and congratulating them for their participation. He spoke with adults and children as he encouraged them to be more active and responsive in their neighborhoods.

For 23 years, National Night Out has been an exceptional and extraordinary event that has proven to reduce neighborhood crime as a participatory community watch program. Not much can go wrong when citizens take to the streets to let the villains know they are being watched. Crime and illicit drug prevention are the focus of the event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. National Night Out is a productive, positive, practical, inexpensive and enjoyable way to promote neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships in our fight for a safer place to live, work and play. The benefits are certain to extend well beyond the one night out.

In May, DeKalb County Commissioner Burrell Ellis proposed the creation of a groundbreaking workforce-housing program. Commissioner Ellis, who also serves as the county’s presiding officer, has made the development of workforce housing one of his key initiatives. The greatly anticipated program would create incentives for developers to offer moderately priced homes for those we count on day by day.

If his proposal passes, police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, and assisted care givers would be able to live within the communities they serve. This is Commissioner Ellis’ response to the rising cost of housing that has forced many of these valued citizens to seek decent affordable housing in jurisdictions other than the one they serve.

Commissioner Burrell Ellis has been deeply involved with The National Association of Counties (NACo), a bipartisan organization that works to protect the interests of counties across the country. Commissioner Ellis was appointed Vice Chair of the Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) in July 2004. LUCC plays a vital role in national politics because it represents the 100 largest urban counties in the country and, consequently, 50% of the national population.

The LUCC had a successful meeting here in May, with a keynote speech given by Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former Mayor of San Antonio, productive work sessions, and the opportunity to develop a renewed sense of vision and hope for future prosperity. The conference was attended by a bipartisan coalition of elected county officials who shared useful information as they searched for pragmatic solutions to the challenges facing the nation’s largest urban counties.

At the 2006 Memorial Drive Summit, which served as the prelude to the Large Urban County Caucus meeting in the Atlanta Region, Commissioner Ellis facilitated a panel discussion of innovative housing programs. The purpose of the Summit was to explore opportunities for redevelopment of the Memorial Drive corridor, through public-private partnerships to leverage tax dollars. Memorial Drive, once a vibrant commercial corridor, runs eight miles through the heart of DeKalb County, linking the State Capitol and Stone Mountain Park.