Lisa Borders proposes southside CID
January 30, 2009 at 5:17 pm by Scott Henry in NewsAt a well-attended town hall meeting on the subject of public safety Thursday night, Council President Lisa Borders put forth an interesting idea that could hold promise for oft-burgled Southside residents: a community improvement district to help fund extra security.
Borders, who hosted the gathering at Cascade United Methodist Church, suggested that money for surveillance cameras, community patrols and other security measures could be generated by creating a self-taxing district to which commercial property owners would contribute.
It’s an intriguing idea. There are a number of very successful CIDs around metro Atlanta — the Galleria and Perimeter areas and central Buckhead, perhaps most prominently — that fund everything from landscaped medians to shuttle buses to fancy lamp posts.
But I believe I heard Borders say there are no CIDs south of I-20. If that’s the case, it’s surely because there’s simply not the concentration of commercial property to support such an effort. It’s one thing to talk Perimeter Mall, Cousins Properties and Barry Real Estate into ponying up to spruce up the neighborhood. But when you’re dealing with a bunch of mom-and-pop businesses, as well as a hefty number of vacant storefronts — well, that’s a tougher sell.
Still, the kind of security enhancements Borders is talking about would be much less costly than the ambitious transportation improvements that have been done in well-heeled parts of town.
On the other hand, it’s certainly not a quick fix. Any new CID has to be approved by property owner referendum and by the General Assembly, something that likely wouldn’t happen until next year at the earliest.
In the shorter term, Borders proposed siting a new combo police/fire station near the intersection of Cascade Road and I-285, although it was pointed out that the property she has in mind lies just outside the city limits.
But nobody offered a solution to the police furloughs that have resulted in a 10-percent drop in patrol man-hours at a time when the number of burglaries seems to be soaring. One man at the meeting said half the houses on his middle-class street had been burglarized in the past few months, sometimes repeatedly. One couple’s home on that street had been broken into and robbed five times, not including a sixth, failed attempt. Their 5-year-old daughter can’t sleep at night because she’s now afraid to be at home. That’s harsh.
Although only Borders spoke, many local pols turned out to the meeting, including Council members Ivory Young, Lamar Willis, C.T. Martin, Jim Maddox and Mary Norwood, who’s running for mayor. Also seen were ex-Councilman Michael Bond and Fulton Commissioner Bill Edwards.
I didn’t get the impression, however, that as people got up to go home, they felt much safer.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Sounds like mary norwood wasn’t the only person in there running for mayor. When is Lisa Borders going to throw her hat back into the ring?
January 30th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Hopefully soon…
January 31st, 2009 at 2:33 pm
It’s not going to happen. Lisa’s out for the count. Unless something weird happens, it’s going to be Mary Norwood vs. Kasim Reed.
City Council president ought to be an interesting race, though.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:54 am
Hey Y’all:
Lisa Borders is from the same cloak as Shirley Franlin. They are one and the same. Do not let them fool you. I am glad she is not running. Her presence, in reference to real candidates, would only take up space.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I would enjoy Barry telling us more about the “real” candidates in the current mayoral crop. People try to bring Borders back into it precisely because the current candidates inspire little confidence.
I’ll resist predicting whether she’ll actually get back in it.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Mr.T:
If you would look on my coomments for Kasim Reeds tax hike proposal in the Creative Loafing issue, I pretty much outline my current feelings for the quality of this mayoral bunch. On thing I do believe is that we need a change from the past mayoral community and those associated with it and not with candidates, who coincidentally have connections to developers like Cousins or those guys. Weneed a community based mayor. In your analysis of the mayors you chose the one who is more involved in the community. I am pretty sure you may see were i am leaning right now.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Barry, I looked at your comment and get it. You want Mary because Mary is “in the community” i.e. a neighborhood supporter. That’s a legit way to make your decision.
I’ll make my choice based on which candidate 1) actually knows how to manage a budget and has experience with large organizations, 2) will hold his/her commissioners (most notably public safety chiefs) accountable for performance, 3) will use the power of the office to figure out why Atlanta’s schools spend more money and get less done than other local districts, and 4) will fast track BeltLine acquisition (silly GDOT/AMtrak distractions aside).
Right now, no candidate gets the job. I am a Lisa supporter and if she gets back in, I think she’s the right choice.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Mr. T:
This is how I feel right now. I could be swayed many ways by events by the time campaigning and the election gets here I am at the assaement point right not. Nothing is absolute at this moment.
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Mr. T,
Can you explain how Borders fits any of the criteria you have outlined? She has very little experience with budgets. Her track record on public safety is zero. She has not used her power in office to do anything worth mentioning. Her development experience may qualify her for item 4, but she hasn’t shown that yet.
All that aside, I plan on supporting someone who is a least smart enough to learn on the job. Norwood’s pie-in-the-sky Republican ideas don’t excite me. Reed has absolutely no experience at all. And Mitchell’s credibility has been shot in the last six months.
I’m looking for other candidates to join the field. If not, if Lisa is the only person to get back in, I will probably support her too.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
S. DeKalb (where I grew up, incidentally) – Lisa’s not a developer. Real estate isn’t really her thing. The majority of her career has been in healthcare, running large physician practices. Throughout her career, she’s managed substantial budgets where the bottom line actually matters, where you can’t just pass a tax increase to close the gap.
I agree she hasn’t done enough to push the Council to take on Pennington, for instance. But I do know she rides on patrol with APD officers on all shifts and has spent substantial time at nearly every fire station in town. I think she gets what these men and women are up against and with last week’s town hall, she’s starting to find her voice on the issue.
By no measure is Lisa the perfect candidate but I think she has better experience and judgment that anyone currently in the race.
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 am
I like the idea of establishing a new CID to address the security issue. GVCID has been paying officers overtime for additional coverage for the past two years and there has been a drop in crime. They’re also hiring private security to patrol the area.
The southside could use some programs like this.