LOCAL
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CHAMPION!
July 28 - Aug. 3, 2016 • Page 14A
Clarkston signs DeKalb County agreement
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
Clarkston city officials signed
an intergovernmental agreement
(IGA) with DeKalb County on July
14, joining cities throughout DeKalb
County in supporting a future penny
sales tax.
According to Clarkston City
Manager Keith Barker, who briefed
city councilmembers in a half-hour
discussion, the IGA allows a special
purpose local option sales tax
(SPLOST) to extend from five years
to six years while also incorporating
more recent population figures into
the tax.
Most DeKalb cities have signed
the IGA to take advantage of 2015
population figures rather than
2010 population figures, the city
manager said. Barker said cities
came together under the DeKalb
Municipal Association (DMA) and
decided it was in their best interest
to use the most recent figures.
“The original state legislation
calls for a population distribution as
determined by the 2010 census,”
Barker said. “DeKalb County
distributed two population estimates,
one consistent with 2010 census
and another consistent with the
2015 census. There were some
slight variations in each of the
cities.”
Despite Dunwoody’s deferment
in signing the IGA, Clarkston
proceeded with approving a project
list. The IGA calls for cities in
the county to submit a proposed
project list out of three categories:
transportation, facilities as well as
parks and recreation.
Clarkston’s specific IGA for
transportation lists road repaving on
Brockett Road, East Ponce De Leon
and Church Street.
“Those are our primary arterial
streets that will not be improved on
our Streetscapes project,” Barker
said.
Clarkston also requested funds
be put in place for its master plan
regarding Friendship Forest Nature
Preserve as well as a multipurpose
facility for city administration, police,
courts and council.
Barker said there is room to shift
specific projects within the broad
categories and that the IGA provides
the public a “good faith outline”
of those that have already been
proposed.
City officials considered
including Forty Oaks rather
than Friendship Forest and the
possibility of developing a project to
somehow include both in the future.
Councilmembers Beverly Burks
and Robert Hogan called for more
flexibility and generalization.
“Details and specificity has to
be laid on later, there’s no time
for details now,” said councilman
Ahmed Hassan. “We have to make
sure this thing passes now. There’s
no need to argue for details now.”
A committed project list is the
only issue Clarkston’s city council
debated and unanimously decided
to sign the IGA.
Dunwoody is the only city that
has not signed the IGA, as its
council does not agree with how the
SPLOST will be distributed under its
current referendum form. Specific
wording in HB 596 also states it
will do away with a property value
tax freeze due to a typo, causing
Dunwoody officials to balk.
DeKalb County commissioner
Nancy Jester has been telling
officials via her blog and email
that “HB 596 serves to suspend
the homestead valuation freeze
currently in effect in DeKalb County
if the new HOST and a SPLOST are
approved in the November election.
Upon the expiration of the HOST,
the homestead valuation freeze
would be reinstated in DeKalb
County.”
The wording appears on line 22
of the bill, stating “ (2) If the General
Assembly enacts an equalized
homestead option sales and use tax
and such tax is placed into effect in
DeKalb County during the period the
exemption granted by subsection
(b) of this section is in effect, the
exemption granted by subsection
(b) of this section shall be tolled for
as long as the equalized homestead
option sales and use tax is in effect.”
According to state and county
officials, including State Senator
Fran Millar, the word “tolled” should
have said “extended.”
For the IGA to proceed, every
DeKalb County municipality must
sign it and the DeKalb County
Commission must vote to move
forward with a SPLOST referendum
vote in November.
CAMERAS Continued From Page 13A
BodyWorn will start recording when an officer accelerates
his or her speed or if the camera faces upwards or “officer
down” scenario.
The camera system can also automatically blur faces or
identifiable tattoos. This helps create transparency between the
community and police department by allowing departments to
have a quicker response time to media requests or Freedom of
Information Act requests, Lindenau said.
The camera has a “smart offload” system, which uploads
video directly to the officer’s squad car or a cloud storage.
BodyWorn also features live stream capability.
The video stream is encrypted to avoid tampering.
“We have ample evidence of cameras falling off and as a
result not being available for activation. We functionally have
fused the body camera to the officer’s uniform and it ensures
that the cameras do not fall off when they’re most needed,”
Lindenau said. “A lot of departments are wrestling with how
videos can be uploaded. This is a concern and a cost concern
and, quite frankly, a burden on the officers that have to use
these cameras.”
With the video uploading feature, officers don’t have to
travel to the station to manually upload video, Lindenau said.
DCPD also purchased Utility’s Rocket, an integrated vehicle
communication system that allows a Wi-Fi hotspot for patrol
cars.
“I’m excited. I’ve had an opportunity to preview this system
and it’s more than just a body camera. It’s a full camera
system and it’s going to help us manage our officers. It’s very
innovative and I’m looking forward to building trust between our
department and the community,” DeKalb County Police Chief
James Conroy said.
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