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Dear Neighbor:
Many of us reaffirmed commitments to the important things in our lives as we settled into a new year last month. Here in DeKalb County, we hit the ground running by celebrating the county we all love and creating better and more efficient ways to serve you.
In January, we upheld our annual traditions of delivering our State of County Address and hosting our Employee MLK Celebration program. This month, we are moving forward with initiatives we kicked off in 2011 and are implementing in 2012, such as our jobs creation and housing initiatives, ONE DeKalb Works and ONE DeKalb Lives. We are also in the final stages of planning new programs we will roll out in the coming months, which are all geared toward improving the quality of life for our citizens.
2012 promises to be a great year in DeKalb County. As a county we are strong, we are growing and we are thriving. Together, through ONE DeKalb - a unified spirit - we will make this the best year yet in our community.
- CEO Burrell Ellis
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CEO Burrell Ellis to Host Town Hall Meetings
 Join CEO Ellis for several upcoming town hall meetings to give citizens an update on, and discuss, county-related issues. The next town hall meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road in Lithonia.
Additional town hall meetings will be held on:
Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Dunwoody Baptist Church
1445 Mt. Vernon Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
Thursday, Feb. 16, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
St. Timothy United Methodist Church
5365 Memorial Drive
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Stephenson High School
701 Stephenson Road
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Torah Day School of Atlanta
1985 LaVista Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
Tuesday, March 13, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Eastlake Family YMCA
275 E Lake Boulevard SE
Atlanta, GA 30317
Thursday, March 15, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
The Center for Pan Asian Community Services
3510 Shallowford Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30341
Tuesday, March 20, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Lou Walker Senior Center
2538 Panola Road
Lithonia, GA 30058
Tuesday, March 27, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Tucker High School
5036 LaVista Road
Tucker, GA 30084
The meetings are free and open to the public, and the public is encouraged to attend.
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CEO Ellis Delivers 2012 State of the County Address
 DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis utilized his 2012 State of the County Address to key business and community leaders as a call for a unified ONE DeKalb, a pledge to champion the Regional Transportation Referendum, and to define the moral imperative of governance in the 21st century.
CEO Ellis held two addresses, one for business leaders and the other for community leaders, in which he announced the new collaborative initiatives of ONE DeKalb Volunteers and ONE DeKalb Votes.
"We must do a better job of getting our citizens registered and out to vote," said CEO Ellis. "In line with our ONE DeKalb Votes initiative, I will venture into every community in this county to discuss the importance of voting and registering new voters. Because as DeKalb County goes, so will the State of Georgia!"
CEO Ellis noted that ONE DeKalb Volunteers have already given 500,000 hours of service to DeKalb County, at a labor cost savings of $11 million.
During the addresses, CEO Ellis also called for collaboration with state lawmakers to change the laws that govern the creation of new cities and also reflected that the moral role modern government is to prioritize services to those who most need protection, including the young, the old, the sick, and the disabled.
"As we listen to the people and make their priorities the priority of their government, we are passing the moral test," said CEO Ellis. "We are listening, responding to the needs of our citizens and answering the highest calling of government."
Click here to watch or here to read the 2012 State of County Address.
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First Round of DeKalb County Water Sewer Bonds are a Hot Commodity
Within an hour and a half, DeKalb County raised $381 million in the first phase of financing to start the $1.35 billion overhaul of its water and sewer system this year.
"This further proves that the financial integrity of DeKalb County is strong and our ratepayers are getting a good return on their investment," said DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. "This paves the way for us to get down to the serious business of upgrading our water and sewer system, and this investment also carries the extra benefit of putting more of our DeKalb residents back to work through our ONE DeKalb Works initiative."
DeKalb County received extremely strong investor demand from investors, allowing the bonds to be re-priced at lower interest rates.
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DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis Delivers 2012 Executive Budget Recommendation
 CEO Ellis delivered his 2012 Executive Budget Recommendation to the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners in December in accordance with the Organizational Act of DeKalb County. The Tax Funds portion of the 2012 Executive Budget Recommendation totals $547 million and provides for the same general funding levels as in 2011, except in certain areas where new funding is mandated, such as funding for elections in 2012.
"The 2012 Executive Budget Recommendation reflects the Administration's ongoing efforts to restructure government, reduce spending and bring about innovation," said CEO Ellis.
The recommendation also provides funding for all county holidays; no furloughs for county employees; a lower-cost healthcare option for county employees; implementation of the ONE DeKalb Works jobs stimulus program and our ONE DeKalb Lives housing initiatives; and no millage rate increase.
The 2012 recommendation represents a fiscally-responsible budget and CEO Ellis looks forward to working with the Board of Commissioners and hearing from citizens as the county moves toward adoption of a final budget.
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DeKalb County Holds Ribbon Cutting for New Trail Segment at Gresham Park
DeKalb County celebrated the completion of a new trail segment at Gresham Park with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the large bridge near Cottonwood Drive SE and Will Rogers Place.
The bike path was developed by the PATH Foundation to support the growing biking community and promote active and healthy living.
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DeKalb Welcomes Harley Anti-Aging Institute
The $1.3 Million Center Will Create 20 Jobs
CEO Ellis welcomes the Harley Anti-Aging Institute and Atlanta Women's Specialty Group to DeKalb County. The center kicked off construction on the new facility with a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
The Harley Anti-Aging Institute and Atlanta Women's Specialty Group center is a project of the DeKalb Office of Economic Development, which assisted in expedited permitting and other county services. The $1.3 million facility is expected to create 20 jobs.
The Harley Anti-Aging Institute specializes in preventive health, and strives to decrease the incidence of age related diseases using natural a natural holistic approach, thereby improving the quality of life for vibrant healthy seniors. Founder Dr. Sharon Bent-Harley, named one of the nation's top OB/GYN's, is fellowship trained in Anti-Aging Medicine with more than 25 years of experience in private practice in the Metro Atlanta area. Her interests include Robotic surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery, Hysterectomy Alternatives, Bioequivalent Hormone Replacement Therapy, Preventive Health and Perimenopausal/Andropausal Medicine.
For more information about the Harley Anti-Aging Institute and Atlanta Women's Specialty Group, visit www.harleyantiaging.com.
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Job Well Done!
We commend Eddie Cooper, Zoey Copeland, Malcolm Jones and Patricia Moore who all work in our public works department for providing exceptional customer service to our citizens.
This is what one citizen had to say: "Mr. Cooper, Ms Copeland, Mr. Jones and Ms. Moore have been helpful, professional and pleasant to deal with and I hope that you will put a positive report in their files from me as a very satisfied customer."
Thank you Eddie, Zoey, Malcolm and Patricia for a job well done.
Did a DeKalb County employee or department go beyond the call of duty to make your priorities our priority?
Please send us an email so that we can recognize him or her for a job well done.
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