Newspaper Page Text
LOCAL
THURSDAY,JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2018 • Page 11
= Nearby Requests
Mobile app allows
Brookhaven residents
to report issues
BY DEREK SMITH
derek@dekalbchamp.com
If Brookhaven residents
see an issue that needs
attention from the city’s public
works, code enforcement or
parks departments, there’s an
app for that.
Brookhaven Connect is
a smartphone app available
on iPhone, Android and
Windows phones that allows
the city government “to
engage with residents for
nonemergency, action-
oriented issues,” Brookhaven
Communications
Director Burke Brennan said.
The app has been available
for two years, but city officials
want more engagement.
According to Brennan, the
app has about 1,100 registered
users for a city of around
52,000 residents.
The app uses GPS
technology to pinpoint the
user’s location, so users don’t
even need to know where they
are to make a report.
“The neat thing about it
is it’s a phone app, and the
phone knows exactly where it
is,” Brennan said.
If the app is used in an
area where GPS is unreliable
or unavailable, users can
still enter their location
manually. The app allows
users to include a photo of
the problem as well. Brennan
said reports can be made
without a photo, but photos
are recommended because
they often allow for faster
processing of the request by
giving city workers a visual
description of the issue. If a
L
Brookhaven GA|
Public Works
Updated: 3w ago
Not An Issue
user doesn’t have cell service,
reports can still be entered
into the app, but won’t be
submitted until the phone
regains service.
Reports also can be
made anonymously, though
providing a name and
email address allows city
workers to follow up with
the reporting party in case
there are any questions. Users
can select to make the
report anonymously on the
app’s home screen or users
can adjust the app settings
to report anonymously
by default. Brennan said
anonymous reports are
common and users who
report anonymously are not
counted among the 1,100
registered users.
Common issues reported
through the app are potholes
or tall grass at a residence,
according to Brennan.
Issues within the city’s parks
are rarer, he said. Once a
report is made, users can
track the progress of the
report through the app and
see when the issue has been
fixed, even if they report
anonymously
The app helps the city keep
track of things too, Brennan
said.
“We know exactly how
many issues we get in a
certain time period and
how many we close in a
certain time period,” he
said. “It gives us a basis for
measuring our performance.”
Brookhaven Connect
is not intended for reporting
issues that need to be
addressed immediately,
Brennan said. For downed
Parks & Recreation
Updated: 8w ago
tn Process
Parks & Recreation
Updated: 6w ago
Closed
Parks & Recreation
Updated: 4w ago
Received
Parks & Recreation
Updated: 8w ago
The
app allows residents to track the progress
requests they’ve made from within the app.
of service
equi
Request” button at the bottom of the home'screen after opening
the app. Photos courtesy city of Brookhaven.
trees across roads,
malfunctioning traffic
signals or downed stop signs,
individuals should call the
Public Works main number at
(404) 637-0540 and press “1”
to connect to the on-call staff.
Individuals should call 911 for
all public safety emergencies
that require police, fire or
EMS.
All water and sewer
issues are handled by DeKalb
County Water and sewer
emergencies should be
reported to DeKalb County
Department of Watershed
Management at (770) 270-
6243, a 24-hour emergency
number.
Anything else can and
should be reported using
Brookhaven Connect,
Brennan said.
“We are a young city
that was founded on many
precepts, not the least of
which was a responsive
government,” Brennan
said. “This enables us to be
responsive.”
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING AND NOTICE OF
TAX INCREASE
Notice is hereby given that the
Governing Authority of the City of
Clarkston has tentatively adopted
a 2018 millage rate which
will require an increase in the
property taxes of 13.09 percent.
All concerned citizens are
invited to the Public Hearings
on this tax increase to be held
on July 5 at 7:00PM at the City
Hall Council Rm, 3921 Church
Street, Clarkston, GA 30021. The
City Council will adopt the 2018
Millage rate at the July 5, 2018
meeting following the conclusion
of the Public Hearing.
This tentative increase will
result in a millage rate of 17.50
mils, an increase of 2.026
mills. Without this tentative tax
increase, the millage rate will
be no more than 15.474. The
proposed tax increase for a
home with a fair market value of
$ 100,000 is approximately
$ 64.40. The proposed increase
on non-homestead property with
a fair market value of $ 400,000
is approximately $ 257.60.