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THE NEIGHBORHOOD News • Features
Nationwide
search begins
to find new
Atlanta police
chief
By Collin Kelley
A nationwide search is on the find a
permanent replacement for Atlanta Police
Chief Rodney Bryant, who announced he
will retire in June.
“Chief Bryant has answered our city’s
call time and again, and I join all of Atlanta’s
residents in owing him a debt of gratitude
for his steady leadership,” said Mayor Andre
Dickens said in a statement. “I am thankful
that the Chief agreed to stay on for my first
100 days as Mayor, and I have grown to
rely on the Chief’s counsel during our daily
meetings. We will miss the Chief’s leadership
as he enjoys his well-earned retirement.”
This will be Bryant’s second retirement
from the force. He was recalled to duty as
interim chief in 2020 in the wake of Erika
Shields’ resignation following the shooting of
Rayshard Brooks by one of her officers.
Bryant originally joined the Atlanta
Police Department as an officer in 1988. He
was serving as interim chief of the Atlanta
City Detention Center when he was asked
to return after Shields’ departure. He was
confirmed as chief by Mayor Keisha Lance
Bottoms last May.
“I sincerely appreciate the opportunity
to serve the city that I love and call home,”
Bryant said. “As Mayor Dickens plans his
leadership strategies for this great city, I
believe it is essential that he and the City of
Atlanta have a Chief of Police who is willing
to serve throughout his term. I have so many
great memories of my career. I could not
be more thankful to be ending my career
— again — with the City of Atlanta Police
Department.”
The Atlanta City Council issued the
following statement after the retirement
announcement: “Over the course of his
decorated career, Chief Bryant showed
true dedication to the department and
took on tough challenges facing our city.
His leadership played a consequential and
positive role in shaping the community,
and he showed a passion and commitment
toward keeping us safe. We are deeply
grateful for his service to Atlanta.” Hi]
Back to the Polls
$750 million for infrastructure, Buckhead City on Republican ballot
By Dyana Bagby and Amy Wenk
ayor Andre Dickens is work
ing hard to generate buzz and
support for a $350 million
transportation special local
option sales tax (TSPLOST)
and a $400 million infrastructure bond.
The referendums will be on the May 24
primary election ballot.
“TSPLOST 2.0,” as dubbed by Dickens,
calls for extending the 4/10 of a penny sales
tax approved in 2016. Dickens said that
all of the money raised over the next five
years would go toward repairing sidewalks,
bridges, and roads.
If approved, the money from the
infrastructure bond would fund public
safety facilities, recreation centers, parks, and
bicycle and transit lanes.
“With a $3 billion transportation need
over the next 20 years, passing TSLPOST
2.0 would set the foundation to get us there,”
Dickens said during his State of the City
address in April.
The infrastructure bond will yield more
than $400 million for capital projects,
including three new or renovated fire
stations; a public safety training facility; a
Center for Diversion Services; and other
public safety equipment and buildings,
Dickens said.
Additional funding will go toward parks
and playground improvements, bicycle and
transit lanes, and safety lighting for roads,
sidewalks, pathways, and trails, Dickens said.
“Taken together, that’s $750 million
toward improvements across this city. That’s
what I call super-charging city services,” he
said. “But to make this happen, we need
everyone’s support.”
In related infrastructure news, Dickens
also resurrected the “Pothole Posse” to
quickly fill major holes scarring Atlanta’s
streets.
A popular program started by former
Mayor Shirley Franklin in the early 2000s,
the new goal is for crews in the city’s
Department ofTransportation to fill 30
potholes per day.
Another item of note that will appear
on some primary ballots is a question about
Buckhead cityhood.
The Buckhead City Committee, the
group rallying for Buckhead to break off
from Atlanta, said the question will read as
follows: “Crime has dramatically increased
throughout the country including in our
capital city of Atlanta. Should the citizens
of residential areas like the Buckhead
community of Atlanta be allowed to vote to
create their own city governments and police
departments?”
The question will only appear for Georgia
voters requesting Republican primary
ballots. The results could give Buckhead City
advocates a talking point to try to get action
in next year’s Georgia General Assembly.
The effort to get a referendum on the
November 2022 ballot, which would have
let Buckhead residents vote on whether to
form a new city, was blocked by Republican
leaders at this year’s legislative session. UD
6 MAY 2022 | DU
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