Looks like Iron Sky isn’t just donating equipment to the school system.

The city commission will vote this evening on whether to accept a $147,000 donation of cameras, hardware and software necessary for the Police Department to tape and remotely monitor activity on the MARTA plaza and Decatur Square.

According to a letter from the City Manager (page 33)…

“…the MARTA Plaza was selected in order to add an additional opportunity to provide a safe environment for residents and visitors, to reduce the incidences of skateboarding and similar activities and to reduce the number of graffiti incidences.  It will also provide the opportunity to monitor and record the Church Street entrance to the Decatur MARTA Station and the sidewalk going to the bus-to-rail transfer point.”

A map attached with the City Manager’s note (page 34) shows cameras not just focused on what we typically think of as “the MARTA plaza”, but also the MARTA entrance on Church Street and the Square behind the Old Courthouse.

Thanks to Rus for pointing this out!

Wow.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) confirmed Monday it will leave its downtown headquarters and makes its new home in Atlanta’s Perimeter submarket in the first quarter of 2010.

The new AJC headquarters will be 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, across the street from the Dunwoody MARTA station and outside the Perimeter. The building is Macy’s former Southeast headquarters.

Welcome to the new normal.  The one where AJC reporters lunch at Perimeter Mall instead of on Broad Street.

UPDATE: Scott Henry notes on Fresh Loaf that the AJC has done business in downtown Atlanta for over 140 years.  The AJC’s official note includes this not so compensatory tidbit…

The AJC remains committed to covering downtown, Joseph said. The paper will maintain its Capitol bureau and also plans to add an intown bureau for reporters, he said. Details on the intown bureau have not been determined.

So, we all know the state of Georgia has no money, right?

And thanks to new House Bill 143, when the state has no money, it no longer has to pay local governments to fund the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Grant.  How convenient!  So guess what?  Come on, just take a guess…

You got it! Say good-bye to that substantial HTRG reduction on your property tax bill!

However, unlike many metro governments that are just hoping to avoid total financial anarchy, Decatur’s reserve fund seems to be helping the city keep a clear head.  And instead of trying to figure out how much they’ll need to raise taxes during a recession, the Decatur city commission is talking about tax relief at tonight’s commission meeting.

According to a note (pages 25 to 27) from Asst. City Manager Andrea Arnold included with tonight’s city commission agenda, the commission recently asked city staff for options that can provide quick tax relief to residents, since the HTRG reduction won’t be on the second installment of our 2009 bill.  Arnold has come back to the commission this week with the determination that there is currently only one option available to provide immediate relief on the second installment of the 2009 tax bill.

This is the GS1 or low-income senior exemption that is available to resident homeowners that are 62 years of age or older and the household income does no exceed $25,000.  Currently eligible homeowners receive an exemption of $30,000 for City taxes and an exemption of $50,000 for school taxes.  The City Commission has the legal authority to increase this exemption up to $50,000.  Once the exemption is increased, it cannot be decreased.

Arnold recommends increasing the exemption to the full $50,000 for city taxes, which will reduce revenue available to the City by about $100,000.

Longer term Arnold notes that in future years if the commission wishes to increase the city’s homestead exemption they would need to go before the General Assembly and then face a voter referendum.  This means that the earliest an increased exemption could make it through all the red tape and onto your tax bill would be April 2011.  She also suggests the possibility of “creating a new homestead exemption through the General Assembly that would provide a temporary (i.e., one year) exemption if the household income drops below a certain threshold.”

I’m not sure why Hi-Tech is keeping all of its recent movie signage up – unless it’s attempting to become a major stop on some non-existent Decatur Movie Bus Tour – but god help any unsuspecting driver who pulls in to our eccentric gas station for a fill up.

Marla sends in these pics posted on Photobucket…

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We finally have a month nailed down for the Relics & Rarities opening!

Warren writes in…

In early September 2009, Relics and Rarities Ice Cream Parlor and Car Gallery will open its doors. We are prepared to take the youth of Decatur, and the entire metropolitan area on a wonderful journey. The Gallery is full of American automobile history and the culture in which it is surrounded. Just about every item in the gallery has a Relics and Rarities information plaque associated with it. These plaques provide interesting and educational comments. Our motto is “learn something cool and have a cool scoop of ice cream while you’re at it.”

The pic on the right can be found on the site and gives hours and prices.