Decatur’s Planned Actions in Response to Georgia’s “Safe Carry Protection Act”

Decatur Metro | September 2, 2014 | 10:20 am

On the agenda for tonight’s city commission meeting – how Decatur will revise its policies in response to Georgia House Bill 60, known as the “Safe Carry Protection Act”.  Here’s Asst. City Manager’s summary to City Manager Peggy Merriss…

In response to HB 60, the “Safe Carry Protection Act”, which was effective July 1, 2014, City staff evaluated the requirements ofthe law and its potential impact on the City of Decatur. HB 60 allows a person with a valid weapons carry license to enter government buildings, unless the buildings are restricted or screened by security personnel. As a result of the City’s assessment, it is recommended that the following actions be implemented to address the security of City facilities to provide for the
safety of visitors, meeting participants, volunteers, elected officials and staff.

  1. Conduct a “Physical Security Survey” of City buildings to identify reasonable security improvements for each building.
  2.  Based on the results of  he security survey, develop a plan and budget for improvements at each site. At this point, improvements would be in lieu of installing physical screening devices and employing security personnel at each building entrance.
  3.  Adopt the attached “Weapons at the Workplace” policy. O.C.G.A. § 16-11-135 allows employers to enact policies that prohibit employees from bringing weapons into the workplace. Weapons must be secured in a motor vehicle in a city parking facility.
  4. Conduct employee training regarding the provisions of HB 60 in addition to other safety and security issues.
  5. Create a Facilities Security Coordinator position to carry out the recommendations listed above in addition to managing courtroom security and working with the City’s emergency management team. A resolution amending the Pay and Classification Plan is attached for consideration and recommended for adoption.
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3 Responses to “Decatur’s Planned Actions in Response to Georgia’s “Safe Carry Protection Act””

  1. GBK Gwyneth says:
    September 2, 2014 at 2:16 pm

    -1

  2. DecaturDuck says:
    September 2, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    Don’t worry about legal citizens.. Worry about the ones who don’t respect the law.

  3. Keith F says:
    September 3, 2014 at 11:36 am

    I’m a little confused here. This looks like it is entirely about preventing only employees from carrying into their workplace. This was already always an option for employers even prior to the expansive rules of HB 60. From what I’ve seen here, this doesn’t change the ability for everyone other than employees to carry unless security is put into place.

    This accomplishes very little, and in my opinion there is nothing that actually needs to be accomplished in the first place. At least someone new will get a job and the awesome title of Facilities Security Coordinator!