East Point Lives Matter

EAST POINT LIVES MATTER

This article was previously eblasted to East Point residents under the heading of  “EAST POINT RESIDENTS LIVES MATTER” with a correction stated in blue below.

East Point residents are not immune to the pain and suffering caused by the Coronavirus. The City is defined by an overwhelming Black and Brown population; annual median household income is less than $40,000; rental population greatly exceeds homeownership; large group of uninsured and underinsured families and individuals; large groups of unemployed and underemployed workers; and workers with no work histories. These residents desperately need help now more than ever. What is the Mayor and City Council doing to help relieve the pain and suffering caused by the Coronavirus pandemic? What Budgetary relief is the City providing for the residents?

$104 million in Federal Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Funding

$104 million in Federal Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding from the Federal Government to the Fulton County Board of Commissions is used to provide food from the Food Banks and meals at home for senior citizens among other programs throughout all the Cities in Fulton County except Atlanta. East Point is taking undue credit and deliberately misleading the residents by headlining information using robo calls and postings on social media the City’s funding participation in providing COVID-19 assistance.

The City of East Point has not spent a single penny to purchase any of the food that is being sent by the Food Banks to the various churches in the City and the City’s Recreation Center for distribution to the residents. Despite the robo calls and posting of information from Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham and CM Sharon Shropshire, the City is not providing any financial funding or paid manpower resources to get the food from the Food Banks to the distribution sites.

The AJC news Facebook article, “ Fulton mayors scold county commissioners over $104M COVID relief” posted on August 28, 2020 stated that the “commissioners reserved $2.5 million for cities on a reimbursement basis. But after word got out about the possible lawsuit, commissioners last week voted to up the amount to $15 million”. The article further stated that the cities “laid out the basic list of demands: more money to the cities and no extra restrictions on how they can use the funds along with increased transparency and coordination” .

EAST POINT NON-DISCONNECTION UTILITIES COVID REFIEF PROGRAM

Fulton County Board of Commissioners is proposing to provide up to $15 million for reimbursements to the cities for COVID-19 expenditures. Other than hazardous pay for first responders, Mayor and Council have not voted on any expenditures that would qualify for reimbursement from the County. The only other legitimate expenditure, that I am aware of, is the City’s NON-DISCONNECTION UTILITIES COVID REFIEF PROGRAM. The Mayor and Council has never provided or voted on a policy for the Program. Other than stating the beginning and ending date of August 31, 2020, for the Program, affected residents are in the dark concerning how they are affected going forward. Mayor and Council need to provide a written policy stating how the City is proposing to collect the money for the past due non-disconnected back utilities bills and vote on the proposal. I am requesting that the City, requests a reimbursement from Fulton County for the total amount of the bill from the $15 million earmarked for Cities for East Point residents.

I am mindful, that the Cities want Fulton County to provide, “ more money to the cities and no extra restrictions on how they can use the funds along with increased transparency and coordination” . Well, the residents of East Point want and need more direct financial assistance as well as “ increased transparency” as to how much money the City did not bill residential utilities customers for under the non-disconnection Program. Residents also deserve to know the current restrictions for the use of the COVID RELIEF CARES ACT FUNDING and any proposed changes to be voted on by Mayor and Council.  

OTHER NECESSITIES OF THE RESIDENTS

East Point residents who are impacted by COVID-19 are receiving food assistance from the Food Bank as well as other non-profits. However, they are not receiving funding for necessary female hygiene items, personal grooming, health items, underclothing and outer garments, shoes, eyewear for children and adults and needed dental care. East Point City government should do all that it can legally do under the law to provide the affected residents with funding for the stated necessities listed above. The City can request the Fulton County for a reimbursement for the direct gift cards given to families and individuals from the $15 million under the CARES ACT. The City needs to act expeditiously before the money has been used up by other cities.

EAST POINT CITY FUNDING SOURCES

The City of East Point should provide direct financial support to the residents from money within our current allotted Budget Expenditures. The City can legally do this without adding to the FY 2020 Adopted Budget. Mayor and Council need to understand that East Point Residents’ Lives Matter and that the money collected by the City is for the health and wellbeing of East Point Residents and not for their personal use, entertaining non-residents with no tangible benefits to the residents or the City and having a fund raiser to buy lunch for first responder who is already receiving extra hazardous pay.

Anyone who wants to buy lunch for members of the Police Department on patrol or the Fire Department for the EMT’s can do so out of their own pockets or through private donations not associated with East Point Government. I used my own personal money to pay for twenty-eight Sanitation Workers to have lunch for five days at Q’s Restaurant for $727 before the $1,200 Stimulus checks were sent out to everyone. The City just illegally spent $64,098,19 for a Wednesday Wind Down Virtual Heroes Concert Fund Raiser to pay for food for East Point first responders. Donations for the Heroes Event were to be collected by the NAACP. According to City invoices: CLICK HERE ; Heroes Benefit Invoices (1)

1. Entertainers Fees————-$39,850.00 for the four performers
2. Photography——————     $525.00
3. Concert Productions————-$15,768.00 plus $55.19 for payment by credit card
4. V-103——————————   $1,500, one of the Sponsors
5. 8/7 Central Media—————— $1,200
6. 8/7 Central Media Live Stream—-$5,200

The total of $39,850 for Entertainers and $24,248.19 for the other costs’ total equals $64,098.19. This is outrageous! The City has not reported how much money was donated from the August 18^th Heroes Event.

According to the FY2020 Adopted Budget there are 165 Full and Part-time positions in the Police Department, all of which are not street patrol officers; and 82 Full-time positions in the Fire Department. The total number of positions in both the Police and Fire Departments is 247 employees. The City spent $64,098.19 to generate an unknown amount of money for lunch for the extreme number of 247 employees. That means that the City paid $295.51 for lunch for each employee. What in the freaking hell is wrong with this Mayor and Council and equally worrisome the residents for allowing this reckless and illegal behavior?

NEEDED FY 2020 ADOPTED BUDGET CHANGES

Mayor and Council need to vote to amend the FY 2021 Budget by rescinding the allotted funds for the following items:

1. In the City Council’s and Committees’ Budget of $120,000 only $50,000 at most are legal expenditures. On a Budget Preparatory Sheet in the Non-Departmental Budget that is not listed in the Adopted FY 2020 Budget is $200,000 for Council Events one of which is a Wednesday Wind Down Event that the City withdrew $64,098.19 to pay for the Heroes Fund Raiser. That leaves $135,901.81 in that account. Mayor and Council need to vote to rescind allocated funds back to the General Fund and the Hotel/Motel Tax Account in the amount of $205,901.81 ( $70,000 from City Council and Committees, and $135,901.81 from the Hotel/Motel Tax Account)
2. Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is highly unlikely that the State GMA Convention in Savannah; the NLC Convention outside of the State will be held this Budget year, so the $96,000 in travel for the eight Council Members should be rescinded and added back into the General Fund.
3. Likewise, the illegal and totally unnecessary $11,250 expenses for each Council Members’ Assistant totaling $90,000 should be rescinded and added back into the General Fund.
4. The Mayor’s Office Budget is $203,137 of which $101,059 should be rescinded and added back to the General Fund.

The total amount of illegal expenditures and padding of the FY2021 Adopted Budget is $492,960.81, and this total amount should be added back into the General Fund and Hotel/Motel Tax Account for the City to use to help the Residents of East Point.

For the City to legally use the reallocation of the General Fund portion of the $492,960.81 to help Residents, Mayor and Council would need to adopt a Budget transfer rescinding $492,960.81 from the Electric Utility to the General Fund for Indirect Costs. Since the Electric Utility funding is from service fees and not taxing sources, it is a legal expense for using the money to help residents as long as there is a clearly stated objective use that can be done as a grant that provides tangible benefits to the residents and City or to assist with COVID-19 CARES ACT FUNDING.

Possible grant assistance to residents could be used to:

1. Cut down or trim trees on private property up to a certain amount.
2. Pay for needed code enforcement home repairs and removal of overgrown shrubs/bushes up to a certain amount.

STORMWATER UTILITY CLEANING OF THE CREEKS AND ADDRESS STORMWATER ISSUES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY

Since, the adoption and funding of the Stormwater Utility, the City has failed to implement the changes that are required for the Stormwater Utility to collect fees and operate within the City limits. East Point and Griffin are the only two Cities in Georgia that I know of with Stormwater Utilities. East Point’s main reason for creating and adopting a Stormwater Utility was to help the residents with their stormwater concerns; creek cleaning; creekbank restoration, street sweeping program, and vacuum leaf pick-up Program.

There is not a single expenditure in the FY 2020 Adopted Budget to address a single residential stormwater concern or creek cleaning project. The City has failed to implement the process that was meant to address residential property owners concern by failing to:

1. To setting up the Residential Review Appeals Board composed of appointees from the Mayor and each Council Member representing all four Wards.
2. The Residential Review Appeals Board job is to review the written document from the Stormwater Engineer to the residential property owner stating the stormwater problem; the solution for fixing the Stormwater problem; the cost in materials that the residential property owner is responsible for; and the labor provided by the City.
3. If the residential property owner cannot pay the stated amount for the materials, the resident can appeal to the Residential Review Appeals Board. The Appeals Board will make their recommendation to Mayor and Council.
4. Mayor and Council can accept the recommendation of the Appeals Board with or without changes.

It is a clear violation of the Stormwater enabling legislation and intent of the adopting Mayor and Council for any Mayor and Council after December 2013 to tell any resident that stormwater problems on private property are not the responsibilities of the City. So, if any resident has been told this, please contact me immediately at edpittman26@bellsouth.net.

 CODE ENFORCEMENT FAILURE TO ENFORCE ORDINANCES

East Point Code Enforcement officers are failing to enforce adopted City Ordinances for residential single-family homes being rented as Boarding Houses and Airbnb commercial units. Georgia State Constitution takes precedent over our City Charter, Ordinances, Resolutions, and policies. Mayor and Council have not been able to get around the State Statutes that deals with single-family residential zoning for R1 and RL that does not allow for any registration of homes. East Point cannot by law classify or treat R1and RL properties as commercial for multi-family use. The City has been unable to come up with an Ordinance that amends the current Ordinances that make Boarding Houses and Airbnb Rentals legal in East Point. Therefore, Code Enforcement needs to stop pussyfooting around and do their jobs. The Municipal Court needs to enforce the laws on the books also. Who and how many people are getting paid to look the other way?

East Point residents, you need to stop allowing this Mayor and Council to treat you and the City like Impeached President Trump is treating the American public and America. Get some backbone and get off your behinds and fight for yourselves and for those who are unable to fight for themselves. Residents should not have to keep going to court to make Mayor and Council do their jobs in obeying the laws of the City. Several aspects of what I have talked about and alluded to are criminal and I plan to pursue those concerns with legal authorities outside of the City. In the meantime, I am planning a Car Parade Protest. If Mayor and Council do not address our concerns, the Car Protests will continue at least once a week.