Atlanta Mourns the Loss of Firefighter Steven Solomon
The City of Atlanta mourns the loss of Atlanta Firefighter Steven Solomon, who was buried yesterday in the Glen Haven Memorial cemetery in Macon, following a funeral at the Macon Coliseum.
Mayor Shirley Franklin, Atlanta Fire Rescue (AFR) Chief Dennis Rubin and Atlanta City Council president Lisa Borders were among those who traveled to Macon, Ga., to honor the life and sacrifice of Firefighter Solomon. More than 2,000 firefighters from across the country also traveled to Macon to pay their final respects.
On November 29, Firefighter Solomon succumbed to injuries sustained while battling a house fire on Thanksgiving evening. Prior to coming to AFR four months ago, Solomon was a six-year veteran of the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department. His family – which included a wife and four young children — was in the process of moving from Warner Robbins, Ga., to metro Atlanta.
Mayor Shirley Franklin released the following statement on behalf of the City of Atlanta: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of fallen Atlanta Firefighter Steven Solomon. His death serves as a reminder of how much we owe to the men and women who choose to face danger every day in order to save lives and protect property. Firefighter Solomon dedicated his life to serving Atlanta and Macon residents for over six years and we commend his bravery and self sacrifice. He will live on through the hearts and minds of his family and friends.”
Firefighter Solomon was the second Atlanta firefighter to die in the line of duty since 1986. Last year, Russell Schwantes, 39, died of cardiac complications during a non-fire related call at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Contributions to the Solomon Family can be made at any Atlanta-area Wachovia Bank. Just mention the Firefighter’s Emerald Society and Steven Solomon. The account # is 2000034959565. Checks and money orders can be mailed t The Firefighter’s Emerald Society, P.O. Box 7392, Atlanta, GA 30357.
Mayor Shirley Franklin joins Atlanta Fire Chief Dennis Rubin and Atlanta City Council president, Lisa Borders, at the wake for Firefighter Steven Solomon. The wake was held on Sunday, December 3 at the Snows Memorial Chapel in Macon, Ga.
More than 2,000 firefighters from across the county traveled to Macon to pay final respects to fallen Atlanta Firefighter Steven Solomon. |
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Mayors Join Forces to Stop Spread of Illegal Guns
Last week, Mayor Shirley Franklin joined two Georgia mayors and senior officials from 13 U.S. municipalities for the third “Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition” regional conference to discuss the national fight to stop the spread of illegal guns.
The conference was held at the Municipal Court of Atlanta. In addition to Mayor Franklin, other mayors included Roswell Mayor Jere Wood and Lithonia Mayor Darold Honore. Participants represented five southeastern states. Atlanta representatives included the City of Atlanta Office of Weed and Seed; the Atlanta Police Department (APD); Georgians for Gun Safety and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
The conference was designed to improve coordination and information-sharing between cities to develop successful strategies in the fight against illegal guns. Attendees discussed best practices, research and policy perspectives, the impact of pending federal legislation and federal and state lobbying strategies.
In January 2007, the conference will host the “Mayors Against Illegal Guns Summit,” which will kick-off the coalition’s first full calendar year of work together. This effort will be the first ever coordinated, national effort to convince Congress to take ideology out of law enforcement.
“I was glad to join the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition because big city mayors face similar challenges when it comes to illegal guns and we can all learn from each other ways to effectively combat them,” said Mayor Franklin. “This Coalition is more than studying the statistics; it is about advocacy and active lobbying to get illegal guns off our streets.”
For more information about the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, visit here.
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Code Compliance Team “Sweeps” Neighborhoods Clean of Debris
The City Bureau of Code Compliance conducts weekly “sweeps” of Atlanta neighborhoods to improve the quality of life for residents by cleaning up abandoned properties and spotting code violations.
A code enforcement team of more than 10 officers recently visited the Pittsburgh community, a City of Atlanta Weed and Seed neighborhood, where they cleaned 62 properties. In addition to cleaning up neighborhoods, code enforcement officers educate residents on how to spot city code violations, and partner with communities for clean-up activities throughout the year.
Code enforcement officers identify neighborhood clean-up projects by surveying Atlanta neighborhoods, re-visiting areas that have a history of code violations and responding to concerns from residents and Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs). During the winter season, code enforcement officers will aggressively crackdown on open and vacant structures where fires can occur.
For more information on this program, visit here.
City code inspectors “sweep” neighborhoods to improve appearance and quality of life for Atlanta residents. |
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Clean Water Atlanta Public Documents Move to New Location
Because of the sale of the City Hall East property, the Department of Watershed Management (DWM) will relocate its Public Document Repository to 236 Forsyth Street, Suite 400.
The repository is a library of all public material relating to the Clean Water Atlanta consent decree projects. Signed in 1998 and 1999, the consent decrees mandate that the City reduce pollution in the Chattahoochee River.
DWM received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division to relocate the repository. For more information about the Clean Water Atlanta program, visit http://cleanwateratlanta.org/.
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City to Improve Efficiency, Transparency with the 2007 Launch of “CATS”
Consistent with Mayor Shirley Franklin's commitment to provide a government that is efficient and effective, the City of Atlanta will unveil a new best-in-class integrated software system titled City of Atlanta Total Solution (CATS).
CATS provides the automation necessary to efficiently and proactively manage the City’s resources. The implementation of the web-based CATS system will allow employees in all departments to streamline their financial, human resources and procurement processes using a single data source.
Benefits of this integrated system will include: saving up to $50 million in City operating costs annually; drastically reducing the amount of paper-based transactions; and providing timely financial and transaction processes that will allow employees, vendors and other partners to access City-related information via the Internet.
On Friday, December 8, City employees will have an opportunity to test the new system before it goes live in June, 2007. A CATS e-fair in the City Hall Atrium will include interactive demonstrations of the CATS program and scenarios for using the new system.
For more information about CATS, please contact Sherri Dickerson, at sdickerson@atlantaga.gov.
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Essence Magazine recently announced it is choosing Atlanta to launch a national mentoring program. “Atlanta Cares” will be the pilot program for “Essence Cares.” Click here to go to Video On Demand (VOD) webpage where you can watch the news conference and find out how to get involved.
This is just one of the many City of Atlanta videos you can view on the VOD page. Video clips include many of the programs you see on City Channel 26, like news conferences, groundbreakings and other events, as well as special programs that profile City departments and services.
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Rave Reviews!
- Mayor Shirley Franklin received the “2006 Ethics Advocate Award” from the Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics at a ceremony held last week at the Carter Presidential Center. This annual award recognizes an individual whose exceptional efforts are consistent with The Southern Institute’s mission of promoting ethics in business and society. Mayor Franklin was honored for reforming ethics in City of Atlanta government. When she assumed the position of mayor in 2002, Mayor Franklin implemented an open and honest system in Atlanta government. She immediately restored financial stability, which resulted in five balanced budgets and generated a healthy reserve. This year, Mayor Franklin implemented one of the strongest ethics reform programs in the nation, which includes an independent Ethics Task Force. Mayor Franklin is the fourth honoree in the award’s history.
Mayor Shirley Franklin receives the 2006 Ethics Advocate Award from the Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. Former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell (pictured above) nominated Mayor Franklin for the award, and presents it to her during the Southern Institute’s annual gala. |
- Atlanta Police officers volunteer their time as mentors in the Each One, Reach One community mentoring program. On November 4, Each One, Reach One kicked off a tutoring/mentoring program for at risk elementary aged children. Atlanta police officers have volunteered their time to mentor youth at Atlanta area elementary schools during Saturday sessions. Through the program, Atlanta officers help students achieve excellence and groom them to be future community service leaders. This program ends on May 19, 2007. For more information, visit here.
Atlanta Police Officer Kaleem Gibson (pictured above) is a mentor-participant in the Each One, Reach One program. Officer Gibson is pictured with third grade students from Kimberly Elementary School. |
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Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities
- In Atlanta, every day is an opening day … Tuba Christmas, Friday, December 8 at noon in Underground Atlanta. Enjoy the sounds of over 350 tuba and euphonium players from all over the world during the 20th anniversary performance of Tuba Christmas. Underground Atlanta is located at 50 Upper Alabama Street, Atlanta, 30303. For more information, visit here.
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Job Announcements
With the City of Atlanta’s online application system, you are able to create an account and select a Username and Password and then log in to your account.
After your account has been established, you can create an application by clicking on the “Build Job Application” link. Once your application is completed, it will be stored in the system and can be used to apply for future job openings. To get started by viewing current open positions, click here.
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Weekly Features
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