Our Neighborhoods

Every one with a how attached, a label saying who has to agree, and where it applies, something countable you can hold me to.

1. 3.1

   Publish the Condition List

   Streets, water lines, sewer, streetlights. Which are worst, which break most often, what a fix costs, what order we do them in.

   What it unlocks

   The repair schedule below, and every infrastructure grant application we file.

   Hold me to this

   Published within 90 days.

   First 90 daysNeeds a council vote

2. 3.2

   A Repair Schedule, not a Complaint Line

   Right now the worst street is whoever called City Hall most recently. Turn the condition list into a funded, published schedule people can plan around.

   Hold me to this

   Schedule adopted and published in the first year.

   First yearNeeds a council vote

3. 3.3

   Find Out if the Rates Cover the Cost

   An honest look at whether what we charge for water and sewer covers what it costs to deliver it. A system running at a loss gets fixed slower every year, and that's a decision somebody made without telling anybody.

   What it unlocks

   An honest conversation about what we can actually afford to repair, instead of guessing.

   First yearI can do this alone

4. 3.4

   A Cleanup Schedule for the Whole City

   Mowing, litter, overgrown lots, dead signage, dark streetlights — on a standing schedule instead of waiting for complaints. Code enforcement applied evenly. Community cleanup days with the churches and the school. This is the highest ratio of visible result to dollar spent this city has.

   Hold me to this

   A published schedule by street within the first year, and at least two community cleanup days a year.

   First yearNeeds a council vote

5. 3.5

   Publish a Land Inventory

   What parcels exist inside the city, who holds them, zoning, what's buildable, what's tax-delinquent. Not to accuse anybody.

   What it unlocks

   Housing rehabilitation, new construction, and any serious recruitment conversation. None of it can start without this list.

   First yearNeeds a council vote

6. 3.6

   Fix What's Still Standing

   Survey vacant and deteriorating structures, sort salvageable from not, and pursue rehabilitation funding. CDBG and state housing programs fund exactly this for cities our size, through DCA and the Regional Commission.

   Hold me to this

   At least one rehabilitation application filed per year.

   Years 2–4Needs a council vote

7. 3.7

   Get People from Renting to Owning

   Down-payment assistance, USDA rural housing loans, and first-time buyer programs already exist and go unclaimed here. Compile every one our residents qualify for into one plain guide, publish it, and hold sessions at the community center and through the churches.

   Hold me to this

   Guide published in the first quarter. At least two sessions a year.

   First yearI can do this alone

8. 3.8

   Clear the Tax-delinquent Backlog

   Review what Georgia's tax sale and land bank statutes actually allow a city our size to do, and bring the options to council.

   Hold me to this

   Options before council by year three.

   Years 2–4Needs a council vote