Georgia County Government - May/June 2008 - (Page 29)

CLAYTON COUNTY continued from page 26 SPLOST and the first which saw all municipalities support it fully, Gray notes. “In order to implement a six-year SPLOST you must have a signed intergovernmental agreement between the county and all its municipalities,” Gray adds. “We didn’t have all the cities at the table in previous years, but for the 2008 SPLOST, all jurisdictions signed for the first time. We all worked extra hard to get it approved, and it was, by 59 percent.” Gray credits citizen advocates who headed committees to spearhead the effort. The funding plans allocate monies proportionately to cities to meet all their needs, as part of the agreement. Slated to bring in $300 million over six years, the SPLOST will fund capital improvements of many kinds, with $266 going to county projects (see road projects listed previously) and $30.5 million going to fund municipal projects. The county is no stranger to major SPLOST-funded capital improvements, however. The 1998 SPLOST funded the spacious, multimillion and modern Harold Banke Justice Center in Jonesboro, along with an expansive, modern jail. The Clayton County Fire Station No. 4 in Jonesboro is one of several fire stations built with monies from the county’s last SPLOST, which ends in October 2008. Emergency Operations Center, located in the Police Headquarters/E-911 Emergency Operation Center in Jonesboro, is a new state-of-the-art facility that handles some 17,000 calls per month and allocates working space for all disaster response emergency support functions for Clayton County and its municipalities. A state-certified communications staff serves in shifts covering 24 hours, 365 days a year, and they are well supported by dozens of volunteers in specialized roles. The center is commanded by Maj. Thomas Israel, a 25-year veteran of the Clayton County Police Department. The county is acknowledged to have “led the state” in implementing the fi rst wireless tracking system to be used by a Georgia 911 center. The system, begun in 2003, CLAYTON COUNTY continued on page 30 Left Sitting: Commissioner Michael Edmondson District #4 Left Standing: Vice Chairman Wole Ralph District #3 Center Sitting: Chairman Eldrin Bell County-At-Large 112 Smith Street, Administration Building Jonesboro, GA 30236 Tel: (770) 477-3208 • Fax: (770) 477-3217 www.co.clayton.ga.us Right Sitting: Commissioner Virginia Burton Gray District #2 Right Standing: Commissioner Sonna Singleton District #1 MAY/JUNE 2008 www.accg.org 29 http://www.co.clayton.ga.us http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - May 2008

Georgia County Government - May 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG 2008 Annual Meeting: Highlights County Focus: Clayton County Negotiating a Professional Service Firm Contract: Part 3 Counties Get Involved in Efforts to End Sexual Abuse of Children Smart Growth Scorecard Gives Communities a Way to Grade New Developments Wireless Technologies Critical for First Responders Research Corner: The ACCG Policy Process RDCs Assist the USS Georgia Flag Project Extension News: Animals Take Spotlight in Disaster Planning Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Grady County NACo News: Green Initiative Launches Searchable Database Insurance News: ACCG Announces New Inmate Medical Savings Program County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - May 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.