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Dear Neighbor:
I would like to thank the citizens of DeKalb County for giving me the opportunity to serve you for another four years.
Since 2009, we have made significant strides as a government organization. We have cut our budget by more than $130 million, become home to the country's first landfill to produce both electricity and vehicle fuel from landfill gas, given citizens a voice in their county government through the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment, and much more. But there is still work that needs to be done and I look forward to working with you over the next four years to see to fruition the plans that have already been put into action.
Those plans include recently announced programs, such as the PHLOTES to the Top initiative and our new environmental resources management plan, in addition to several that have earned us recognition this year. While they all address different aspects of communal life, all of our programs work in concert to do one thing -- enhance the quality of life in our community.
Thank you again for your vote of confidence.
- CEO Burrell Ellis
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DeKalb County Receives National Recognition
 DeKalb County was recently recognized for its innovative county programs and initiatives with four awards during the National Association of Counties' (NACo) 77th Annual Conference and Exposition.
I accepted the 2012 County Courthouse Award, which recognizes innovative county leaders and the good governance practices they have initiated in their communities.
DeKalb's Toilet Retrofit Program and new Landfill Gas to Transportation Fuels Conversion Facility were each recognized with a 2012 NACo Achievement Award. The conversion facility was also named Best in Category in the Environmental Protection and Energy category, and as such, is the most outstanding county model program submitted to the category this year.
The county also earned a 2012 National County Government Month Award for the CEO's Community Hero Awards, Renewable Natural Gas Facility ribbon cutting and Lunch & Learn series. The award recognizes the efforts of counties across the nation in delivering public awareness programs and events that educate citizens about the role and functions county government performs.
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CEO Ellis Announces Program for Better Communities
 The recent ONE DeKalb Lives: Complete and Sustainable Communities Summit highlighted quality of life issues that are a top priority for DeKalb County and the greater community, including keeping families in their homes, what citizens can do about vacant foreclosures in their neighborhoods and moving new families into vacant homes.
During the summit, two neighborhood clusters were announced to participate in a special pilot program called the DeKalb County Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI). These DSNI neighborhood clusters - Cross Keys and McNair - will collaborate with a variety of agencies and organizations to craft a comprehensive approach for improving the quality of life in the county.
A briefing on the DeKalb County Energy and Environmental Resources Management Plan was also held during the summit. The plan is designed to implement a long-range, comprehensive energy and environmental resources management strategy for DeKalb County and the community-at-large, addressing issues such as energy use, transportation, procurement, and local sustainable food.
The plan also promotes responsible management and effective stewardship of the county's built and natural environments by developing ongoing energy and water efficiency strategies and land use and transportation policies that maximize the opportunities for cost savings, environmental stewardship and economic development.
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CEO Ellis Unveils PHLOTES to the Top
 The first initiative of the DeKalb County Higher Education Advisory Council, a consortium of institutions of higher learning, was recently announced to citizens. PHLOTES to the Top is a collaborative project that addresses the needs of DeKalb's PHLOTES - Primary Home Language is Other Than English Student - population and their families.
PHLOTES to the Top leverages the resources of the county, colleges and universities, and non-profits like the United Way to enhance the capacity of PHLOTES to become proactive citizens in their respective communities.
In the form of an extended day program, PHLOTES to the Top increases accessibility to educational, social and workforce services for the K-12 PHLOTES population and their families to increase literacy, graduation, job readiness, and homeownership rates. The program, which will be implemented in the fall, is set for Monday - Thursday, 5-9 p.m. in the Clarkston School Cluster and provides two tracks -- one for the student and the other for the family -- by which resources and services can be accessed. The program will be expanded in the future to include additional high school clusters.
Since 2009, we have met with college and university presidents to discuss partnerships with DeKalb County Government and the county's institutions of higher learning. The group, including leaders from Emory University, DeVry University, Georgia Perimeter College, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Mercer University, Georgia State University, Oglethorpe University, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Agnes Scott College, serves as the CEO's Higher Education Advisory Council.
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DeKalb County Council on Youth Violence Prevention
 CEO Ellis announced the formation of the Council on Youth Violence Prevention last month. Stemming from the DeKalb Summit on Youth Violence and Interfaith Candlelight Vigil held in June, the council, made up of faith and community leaders, health advocates and county officials, is charged with developing a comprehensive youth violence prevention plan that promotes awareness, streamlines access to resources, mitigates attributive factors, and fosters a commitment to ending this destructive behavior.
The Council on Youth Violence Prevention is a local solution to a national problem that we're tackling right here at home. Through this effort, we are providing young people with the most powerful tool available to overcome violence - a seat and a voice at the table.
Council on Youth Violence Prevention members include:
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The Rev. Dr. Ken Samuel, Senior Pastor, Victory for the World Church - Chair
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Jeffrey E. Hall, PhD MSPH, CPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Hon. Robert James, District Attorney, DeKalb County District Attorney's Office
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Hon. Sherry Boston, Solicitor General, DeKalb County Solicitor General's Office
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Hon. Eugene Walker, Ph.D, Chair, DeKalb County Board of Education
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Hon. Thomas Brown, Sheriff, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
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Dr. Sandra Ford, District Health Director, DeKalb County Board of Health
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Hon. Desiree Peagler, Chief Judge, DeKalb County Juvenile Court
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William Miller, Director, DeKalb County Public Safety
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Trenny Stovall, Director, DeKalb County Office of Child Advocacy
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Jeffrey Tapia, President, Latin American Association
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Chaiwon Kim, President, Center for Pan Asian Community Services
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Terence McPhaul, Executive Director, YouthPride
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Imam Plemon El-Amin, Imam Emeritus, Atlanta Masjid Al-Islam
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Gary Richey, Director, DeKalb Community Service Board
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Chris Morris, Director, DeKalb Community Development
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Sheryl Chapman, Director, DeKalb Workforce Development
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Roy Wilson, Director, DeKalb Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs
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DeKalb County Animal Services Expands Services
Adoptions now available 7 days a week
DeKalb County Animal Shelter has adjusted its hours of operation to allow for animal adoptions 7 days a week. Increasing the hours and days of operation at the shelter is another method for us to put deserving pets into responsible homes.
The shelter at 845 Camp Road in Decatur will now be open Monday - Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Welcome Home DeKalb Debuts
DeKalb County Television's (DCTV Channel 23) newest program, Welcome Home DeKalb debuted in July to citizens across the county. The show is hosted by Radio Personality Sasha the Diva and features tours and overviews of homes currently offered through ONE DeKalb Lives, a housing initiative designed to stabilize communities hardest hit by foreclosures and rebuild neighborhoods; valuable homebuyer information; and stories highlighting the county's newest homeowners and most sought-after properties.
On the first episode of Welcome Home DeKalb, viewers met a single mother who is now a homeowner in DeKalb County due to her participation in a county homeownership program, toured a home currently available in Decatur, learned about homebuyer programs from DeKalb County Community Development Director Chris Morris, and viewed a profile of a new retirement development currently being constructed in the county.
Welcome Home DeKalb airs the first Monday of every month and is aired throughout each month. The show is also available on demand at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/dctv and on DeKalb County's YouTube Channel, DeKalbCountyGov.
DCTV serves as the sole media source of DeKalb County government events and programs, working to inform the more than 700,000 residents in DeKalb.
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CEO Ellis Featured at the National Urban League's Annual Conference
I was proud to be a featured speaker at the 2012 National Urban League (NUL) Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana in July. The Annual Conference offers a path to empowerment to urban communities, while strengthening NUL's strategic partnerships with our constituents and institutions. This year's conference theme, "Occupy the Vote: Employment and Education Empower the Nation," represents an unprecedented mobilization to influence public policy through grassroots political action.
Diversity is not only good social policy, it creates the means by which excluded groups can get in the door and break through glass ceilings. It is also good for business. Diversity must occur throughout an organization. This will be when business will be at its best, for this is when human beings will be valued above all.
Our ONE DeKalb Works program served as a local example of a public-private partnership that addresses jobs creation and the issue of workplace diversity. The ONE DeKalb Works program was implemented in collaboration with the National Urban League and the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, utilizing $1.3 billion in water and sewer system improvements to create more than 4,000 jobs for local residents.
The opening address at the National Urban League's 2012 Conference was delivered by President Barack Obama.
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Wade Walker Park Family YMCA Sneak Preview
 Citizens were recently treated to a sneak preview of the Wade Walker Park Family YMCA, located at 5585 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain, GA 30088. The family friendly event featured a tour of the facility, departmental displays, games, entertainment, and food.
Upon completion, the facilities will include a full court basketball with two cross courts and retractable bleachers; indoor track; indoor lap pool with a separate whirlpool and sauna; exterior leisure pool with zero beach and slide; 4,000 square-foot wellness center with aerobic and weight equipment; daycare and teen center; and multipurpose community room.
The Wade Walker Park Recreation Center and Pool is a state-of-the-art, intergenerational multipurpose facility for DeKalb County residents in partnership with the Metro Atlanta YMCA.
The facility is set to officially open this Fall.
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Did You Know?
The Animal Shelter is now open on Sundays for adoptions.
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Job Well Done!
We commend January Jackson in the DeKalb County Superior Court deed room for helping Mayor Marcia Glenn Hunter research information on the day before the 4th of July holiday.
This is what Mayor Glenn Hunter had to say about January: "She was most pleasant and patient in assisting me to resolve the problem I was having. She rates an A+ in customer service."
Thank you January 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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Mobile Career Center Schedule
Aug. 14, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wesley Chapel Library
2861 Wesley Chapel Rd
Decatur, GA 30034
Aug. 15, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Department Of Family & Children Services
178 Sams Street
Decatur, GA 30030
Aug. 16, 9:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College
495 N. Indian Creek Dr
Clarkston, GA 30021
Aug. 20, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Redan-Trotti Library
1569 Wellborn Road
Lithonia, GA 30058
Aug. 21, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Covington Library
3500 Covington Highway
Decatur, GA 30032
Aug. 22, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Tucker-Reid Cofer Library
5234 LaVista Road
Tucker, GA 30084
Aug. 23, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Le Cordon Bleu
1927 Lakeside Pkwy
Tucker, GA 30084
Aug. 27, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Clarkston Library
915 N. Indian Creek Dr
Clarkston, GA 30021
Aug. 28, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wesley Chapel Library
2861 Wesley Chapel Rd
Decatur, GA 30034
Aug. 29, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Georgia Department of Human Services
2910 Miller Road
Decatur, GA 30035
Aug. 30, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Stonecrest Library
3123 Klondike Road
Lithonia, GA 30038
For more information and to access a calendar with scheduled locations, please visit www.dekalbworkforce.org.
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