DeKalb Implements ‘Socially Distant Service Delivery’ Strategy
County restricts public access to county facilities

Please be advised. Tuesday, March 17th, All Board of Commissioner’s committees meetings have been cancelled.

In order protect county workers from the spread of COVID-19, the County will restrict access to all government buildings and facilities to the public starting today, Monday, March 16th. The Administration is assisting with a logistical plan for future business related meetings.

While physical access to county facilities will be restricted to the general public, county services will still be available. The county has made it possible for its customers to engage with any department they would normally have a face-to-face encounter with via email, telephone, standard mail delivery, and any other electronic platform available to the county.

Our office will continue to offer a high level of services and support to our constituents as normal. Staff will be tele-working via email and voicemail and we are working on a plan to provide for virtual meetings. Please continue to leave voicemails at our office number 404-371-4909 or email kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov and follow announcements on our Facebook page here.

For information on accessing county services during this time, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov or call 404-371-2000 or 311 from a landline Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For information about COVID-19, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov/coronavirus.

Please note that this is an unprecedented emergency and we will continue to provide information as it is received.

2020 Primary Elections

Governor Brian Kemp declared a public health emergency. Georgia elections officials have postponed the presidential primary scheduled for March 24th because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The state rescheduled the March 24th presidential primary, which includes the DeKalb County Sheriff election to May 19, the same date as the regular primary for a U.S. Senate seat and other offices, including the District 6 Commission election.

Reminder! Previously scheduled community events are continually being cancelled, postponed, or the format for delivery has been changed to protect Georgia citizens. Our office will not receive all notifications for events that we have previously shared.

Please contact the event directly to confirm that it will be happening before you go.

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has directed all county departments to activate their emergency operations plans to protect the public and employees while ensuring the continuation of essential services.

The following protocols are in place:

Water
• If needed, the Department of Watershed Management has identified a supplemental certified workforce to ensure continued operations of the water treatment facility.
• The county has reviewed its mutual aid agreements with the state of Georgia to receive emergency assistance to continue service if necessary.
• In 2017, CEO Thurmond signed an executive order establishing a moratorium on all residential water cutoffs while a customer’s bill is dispute.

Public Safety
• To ensure maintenance of appropriate police staffing levels, all detectives will be in uniform as backup reserve officers.
• The Fire Rescue Department has acquired additional personal protective equipment in order to respond to potential COVID-19 calls.
• Adjusted questions asked by E911 staff to identify suspected cases of COVID-19 during the call-taking process by using the emerging infectious disease surveillance system.

Senior Centers

• The county’s 317 Meals on Wheels clients will continue to be served as normal.
• The North DeKalb, South DeKalb, DeKalb-Atlanta and East DeKalb (Bruce Street) senior centers will be open to distribute meals to their 559 customers only. Seniors will be able to pick up their meals between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Senior customers of these centers who do not have transportation should call 770-322-2950 from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• The Lou Walker and Mason Mill multipurpose senior centers will be closed until further notice.

Sanitation
• Qualified beautification unit employees will be used to supplement sanitation division driver and refuse collector operations.
• The sanitation department has identified retired sanitation employees to supplement operational teams if necessary.

Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs
• While DeKalb’s recreation facilities will be closed to the public, all county parks will remain open for outdoor use. All group gatherings, rentals, program and activities will be suspended from March 16-31.
• Students will be able to pick up snacks at the following DeKalb County recreation centers from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday:
o Gresham Recreation Center, 3113 Gresham Road, Atlanta, GA 30316
o Exchange Intergenerational Recreation Center, 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30034
o Redan Recreation Center, 1839 Phillips Rd., Lithonia, GA 30058
o Tobie Grant Recreation Center, 644 Parkdale Drive, Scottdale, GA 30079
o N.H. Scott Recreation Center, 2230 Tilson Road, Decatur, GA 30032
o Lucious Sanders Recreation Center, 2484 Bruce Street, Lithonia, GA 30058
o Mason Mill Recreation Center, 1340- B McConnell Drive, Decatur, GA 30033
o Hamilton Recreation Center, 3263 Chapel Street, Scottdale, GA 30079
o Midway Recreation Center, 3181 Midway Road, Decatur, GA 30032

Department of Information Technology
• The information technology department is procuring additional licenses and technology for virtual meetings.
• The department has ordered 100 laptops to help support additional technology requirements.
• Employees with county-issued laptops or iPads have been instructed to take them home each day, as well as any tools/resources they would need to work remotely.

Additional operational updates will be available as issued and can be found at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/coronavirus.

DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Offices                                                                                                                 

Beginning at 8:00am Monday, all DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Offices will be closed to the public until further notice. The staff will continue to work to process Motor Vehicle and Property Tax documents submitted via fax, mail, email, and their office drop boxes at the Memorial Drive and Dresden Drive locations. Taxpayers may visit our website at www.DeKalbTax.org for information on how to submit the necessary documents for processing. Click the “Drop-Off Services” tab at the top of the page for more information.

Taxpayers are encouraged to utilize the convenient Kroger kiosks and website for tag renewals and property tax exemption applications as protocols set by the Chief Executive Officer Michael Thurmond are being placed to eliminate face-to-face interactions.  The Tax Commissioner’s office  will still provide as many services to taxpayers as possible. They can be reached by phone at 404-298-4000 with questions, but the website has all the information a taxpayer may need.

Please visit the county tag website at www.DeKalbTax.org for more information and office updates.
DeKalb County Libraries

DeKalb County Libraries are closed. If you have physical materials currently checked out, the library will be making adjustments to due dates so that you will not be penalized with fines. They will adjust the hold expiration date of any item not picked up by this past Saturday to maintain your place in the queue. Outdoor book drops will be open as normal until further notice. They are working through additional circulation details now and will post more complete information to their website once it is finalized.

Even though the branches are closed, DCPL will continue to provide a wide variety of digital services that can be accessed from their website. For the time being, staff will be available via telephone during regular operating hours (except Sundays) and can help with questions about library accounts and accessing online resources. The youth services librarians will be looking at ways to provide some storytime programs through Facebook live feeds. The WiFi network will remain operational and can be accessed in the parking lots during regular operating hours.

The safety and health of staff and patrons is the top priority. They will continue to communicate changes to service at dekalblibrary.org. Please check back frequently.
DeKalb County Court Systems                                                                                                                                           

DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Asha F. Jackson has issued an order to declare, “the existence of a Judicial Emergency in the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit. To view Executive Order visit here.

The nature of this emergency is the continued transmission of Coronavirus/COVID-19 throughout DeKalb County and the potential infection of those who are required to appear in our courts and interact with large groups due to jury service, including grand jury service, or other large, non-essential calendars.” The order shall be held for thirty (30) days from the date of the order and is included in this press release.

Also, please visit the DeKalb County’s Clerk’s website at www.dksuperiorclerk.com for any services that may be processed online.

There will be continued monitoring of the health concerns and citizens will be updated as information becomes available.

All Magistrate Court Civil Calendars are postponed until further notice. Temporary Protective Order Ex-Parte hearings will proceed on a limited schedule, Monday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Temporary Protective Order Twelve Month hearings previously scheduled will be reset to a later date.

Magistrate Court Criminal Division will continue to operate on its regular schedule with limited access to the public.  Bond hearings will be held in accordance with the regular schedule.  Preliminary Hearings, Warrant Application Hearings, Criminal Warrant Applications, and Weddings are suspended until further notice.

Ordinance Division–all regular Ordinance Hearings are suspended until further notice, except for jail cases, which will be heard as regularly scheduled.

Additional operational updates will be available as issued and can be found at https://dekalbcountymagistratecourt.com