GMA Headlines
September 16, 2021
Georgia Environmental Finance Authority
GEFA is offering phase three of the Solar Resiliency program to increase resiliency for critical facilities
in communities across Georgia. This program is offered to government entities, including cities,
counties, K-12 schools, and state agencies.
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September 14, 2021
AmeriCorps
Public Health AmeriCorps will include a 400 million dollar investment, over five years, from the American Rescue Plan Act workforce funding that will enable the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders who are ready to respond to the public health needs of the nation by providing public health service in communities.
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September 13, 2021
April 2021
State law requires periodic renegotiation of the LOST distribution certificate. With the release of the 2020 Census data, all counties and municipalities that currently impose a LOST are required to renegotiate the distribution certificate for the proceeds of the tax on or before July 1, 2022. The Georgia Municipal Association prepares a publication to inform city officials who will be involved in the LOST renegotiation process about the requirements, processes, and timelines that are set forth in state law.
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CitySmart by VC3
September 13, 2021
Joe Howland, Chief Information Security Officer, Sophicity
Cybersecurity is evolving toward the point where we cannot rely alone on traditional cybersecurity tools such as firewalls, antivirus, and VPNs. In other words, we cannot assume that anything making it past a perimeter into your network is good.
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September 2, 2021
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
This program assists rural small businesses and agricultural producers by conducting and promoting energy audits and providing Renewable Energy Development Assistance (REDA).
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August 31, 2021
Federal Railroad Administration (of the U.S. Department of Transportation)
This program funds projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail.
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August 31, 2021
Partnership for Inclusive Innovation
The Innovate for All program funds efforts that expand access to inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities statewide. Our goal is to support a network of projects that scale essential innovative programs, services, and technology deployments across the state.
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August 31, 2021
Partnership for Inclusive Innovation
PIN Awards recognize communities and student collaborative teams who are making an impactful and transformative difference in local Georgia communities. While most focus on corporations or individuals, we recognize collaborative teams accomplishing meaningful community research with smart technologies in the areas such as sustainability, resiliency, and inclusivity.
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The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation recently announced that Woodbury and Concord, along with Pike and Spalding Counties, were selected to participate in its 2021 Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.
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Strides have been made in the areas of youth engagement and tackling the challenges that plague youth. But cities need to work together and forge partnerships for continued success in this area.
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August 25, 2021
Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget
On Aug. 24, Governor Kemp announced an extension of the deadline for the State Fiscal Recovery Fund grant applications from August 31, 2021, to October 31, 2021. Follow the link for details on the revised timeline for applications and grant review with the new extended deadline.
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Public Square
August 24, 2021
Robert Steuteville, Congress for the New Urbanism
We shape our cities and then they shape us.
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CitySmart by VC3
August 16, 2021
Victoria Boyko, Software Development Consultant
Despite the perceived importance of ADA-compliant websites, many city websites do not comply with best practices that help disabled people access content.
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Bias is our conscious or unconscious preferences for and against certain things, places, people or groups. If we are aware of and actively “claim” our bias, it is explicit. For example, if someone was to say “I believe that drug addiction is a sign of moral weakness,” they would hold an explicit bias. Implicit bias, on the other hand, typically operates outside of our conscious awareness.
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This report shows what local governments can do to mitigate the rising cost of rental housing. It considers the root causes of high rent burdens, reviews evidence about the consequences, and lays out a framework that cities and counties can use to help provide all their residents with safe, decent, affordable housing options.
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Given their mission to make communities better places to live, learn, work and play, park and recreation agencies are in a unique position to champion efforts that advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). However, gaps remain in understanding how systemic racism, unfair power structures, and a lack of cultural competency and humility affect DEI and access to quality park and recreation spaces and programs.
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August 12, 2021
U.S. Economic Development Administration (of the U.S. Department of Commerce)
The STEM Talent Challenge seeks to develop or expand regional workforce capacity to support high-growth, high-wage entrepreneurial ventures, industries of the future (which usually includes industries that leverage emerging technologies), and other innovation-driven businesses that have a high likelihood of accelerating economic competitiveness and job creation in their respective regions and in the United States.
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GeorgiaForward is proud to announce the return of its Young Gamechangers program in 2022, with Dalton serving as the Host Community.
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If the communities you serve have been suffering from financial hardship, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has provided several resources for you to share with those individuals and families.
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If the communities you serve have been suffering from financial hardship, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has provided several resources for you to share with those individuals and families.
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Macon Rocks Climbing Gym opened its doors to the public on March 22, 2021, in the heart of downtown Macon.
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August 11, 2021
By Gwin Hall, GMA Senior Associate General Counsel. Legal Brief by Regina Gresham
The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a long-standing principle that the doctrine of sovereign immunity protects cities from liability for not addressing nuisances that are caused by private parties on private property.
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There are multiple federal partnerships for cities available.
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Cities comprise only 9.2% of the land area in Georgia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but they provide 68.9% of all jobs in the state.
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GMA’s “Starts With Me!” workforce development campaign was developed for use by Georgia’s cities. It was created to help address the growing talent acquisition and retention challenges faced by Georgia’s cities and focuses on the heartwarming side of working in city government.
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GMA’s “It’s Worth a Shot” public information campaign was designed to provide all of Georgia’s cities with resources to educate residents about the COVID-19 vaccine.
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August 11, 2021
By Alia Hoyt
There’s no shame in asking for help, especially when something as important as a city’s future is at stake.
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The mission of the Georgia Cities Foundation (GCF) is to assist cities in their community development efforts to revitalize and enhance underserved downtown areas by serving as a financing partner and to provide other programming and training to help local leadership with their community and economic development initiatives.
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GeorgiaForward is continuing their 2021 series, “Two Georgias No More: Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide.” Reframing the discussions on healthcare, education, housing and broadband, this series demonstrates how deeply linked and interconnected Georgians are.
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At their May 12 meeting, the Georgia City Solutions (GCS) Board of Directors received an update from fundraising strategy consultant firm, Coxe Curry & Associates, on the status of the feasibility study phase of the strategy to secure approximately 5 million over a three-year period for programs and initiatives in support of the adopted strategic plan.
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GMA celebrated its newly renovated and expanded Downtown Atlanta headquarters with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 23.
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Statesboro has created a new program to connect high schoolers with city government.
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The City of Dacula recently launched its own recycling service aimed to improve customer satisfaction and save taxpayer money.
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August 10, 2021
By: Youth Commissioned by The National League Of Cities: J. Bethea, A. Campos, A. Martinez, J. Snipe
Young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 are arrested and jailed at higher rates than other age ranges, representing only 9.5% of the U.S. population, yet accounting for 23% of all arrests. We are frequently portrayed as violent or irresponsible by the media and, by the many systems that overwhelmingly fail us.
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August 10, 2021
By Larry Hanson, GMA Executive Director
When we think of partnerships, we must think not just of those in our immediate surroundings, but all those around us that can be force multipliers to help us achieve our goals.
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August 10, 2021
By Jim Thornton, GMA President
The future of Georgia and of our cities is bright, and much of the credit for the optimism we share is due to the leadership of Georgia’s mayors, councilmembers and city officials.
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GMA held a 90-minute information session on ARPA during the 2021 GMA Annual Convention in Savannah. The slides from these presentations can be found in this article.
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LaGrange Mayor Jim Thornton was elected president of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) during its Annual Convention on Aug. 8.
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Public Square
July 27, 2021
Robert Steuteville, Congress for the New Urbanism
As Baby Boomers enter the market for retirement communities, they are demanding different models from the typical facilities of today, where the most prominent public feature is often a parking lot behind a gated entry.
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July 22, 2021
U.S. Economic Development Administration (of the U.S. Department of Commerce)
Through the Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation program, EDA is focused on accelerating the recovery of communities that rely on the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors.
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July 22, 2021
U.S. Economic Development Administration (of the U.S. Department of Commerce)
The Build Back Better Regional Challenge is designed to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks.
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July 19, 2021
Sara Baxter
Two communities found a way to involve their youngest citizens. One uses town hall meetings designed just for kids while the other used an art initiative. The result, increased engagement.
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July 19, 2021
Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network
This report includes recommendations developed to strengthen the infrastructure and quality of metro Atlanta’s summer learning landscape, increase and coordinate funding, and serve the needs of the whole child. Although the report is metro-Atlanta specific, it can be used as a framework by communities across the state.
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