Same meeting, two reports

The same city council meeting with two different point's of view.

The AJC's April Hunt wrote:

East Point started out the current fiscal year in yet another deficit, though one smaller than in years past.

The $2.2 million hole in the city’s general fund was among several findings an outside auditor presented during a 90-minute City Council meeting Monday night.  That counters months of claims that the city ended the year with a surplus.
Details, though, are unclear. City attorney Nina Hickson refused to make the draft audit public.

Read more here.

Ward B Councilman Lance Rhodes emailed this message:

Just a quick note to let you know that the auditor meet with the Council last evening and confirmed the financial condition of the city. As I have been advising for the past two years, we are on our way to recovery. Every statement made through the City Manager's office has been correct. Mr. Jones has done an outstanding job in addressing our recovery. It is an exciting time for East Point.


While we are excited about our improvement, we are still far from being stable. My greatest fear now is the attempts of some Council Members to begin a spending spree. This improvement should not be a license to spend but a reminder of the need to continue our recovery plan.


Our goal is to work over the next two years to be able to operate without the use of a tax anticipation note. I believe the use of the TAN is a solid financial approach. However, it certainly is a sign of improvement when the use of a TAN is optional and not necessary for general operation.


We have gone from a 22 million dollar financial challenge 8 years ago, to a 14 million dollar TAN to only needing an 8 million dollar TAN this year.


We have cut the budget, increased revenue, completed major CIP improvements, addressed the Consent Order issued through the EPD, paid a 16 million dollar debt to Atlanta and the list goes on.


Bottom line is............."what we are doing is working". Please encourage the Council to continue our recovery plan. In addition to this focus, we must now search out new development and retain present business.

JP coucil member looks ahead

Ward B Coucilman Lance Rhodes this week moved into a leadership role on city council. 

The board elected Rhodes to serve as mayor pro tempore, putting him in line behind Mayor Earnestine Pittman to preside at the council if she cannot attend a meeting. He was elected to the post earlier this week when Pittman and other council members were sworn in. Rhodes has served on the council since 2004 representing the neighborhood.

For his efforts in local politics, Georgia Equality issued a press release applauding  Rhodes' leadership.  Late last year, Rhodes wrote a new local law to provide employment protections to gay and transgender employees.

Rhodes answered questions from The Jefferson Park Hub about future goals as elected city leaders start to guide the community:

What are your three priorities in the year ahead for Ward B and how will you achieve them?

• Controlling and building our budget. We must focus on building a reserve fund balance while controlling our spending and increasing our revenue.

• Responding to the "Penny for Your Thoughts" program. I received over 55 ideas ( from over 125 citizens in ward B ) and I will work to address each item on the list. If you do not have a copy of this, let me know and I will send it to you.

• Development

• You asked for three but there is a fourth that I must mention. Being responsive. I can not state the importance of responding to emails and calls from citizens. I will remain committed to be responsive. I would even go so far as stating this is my major priority.  

Overall, what challenges do you think the city faces in 2010?

• One challenge is to enable our Building, Industrial and Development Authority to complete their mission to develop our down town area.

• Secondly, we must be creative in providing service delivery while continuing our work on balancing the budget. While I support the need to improve services, I believe that the "Band-Aid" approach to service delivery has been part of what has caused the city so many financial difficulties. We need to improve service delivery but in a fashion that will be long term. Temporary improvement only serves to drain our financial resources and end up being a disappointment to our community. 

• Thirdly, we must remain committed to our financial recovery plan. I am fearful that there will be a "spending" frizzy among our Council. A slight improvement should not be mistaken for a complete recovery. We still a few years before we can stand as a city that recovered from the past 20 years of financial abuse. 

Downtown East Point appears to have ‘good bones,’ with a mix of community institutions, the MARTA station and library, and a dining district, from Thumbs Up and sports bars to the vegan restaurant. Are you satisfied with East Point’s downtown? If not, what needs to happen?

• Complete our Transportation grant program to beautify the down town area. The role of the BIDA needs to be a priority on Council. Business owners should be invited to be more involved in our development. Incentives to retain business must be a corner stone to development improvement.