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From YouTube: The State of the City 2018 Columbus, GA
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A
I
now
invite
a
representative
from
our
presenting
sponsor
Allen,
Rothschild
shareholder
of
the
page
Grantham
Tucker
and
Ford
farm
Allen's
practice
law
in
Columbus
in
Atlanta
for
over
30
years,
specializing
in
the
area
of
estate
planning
and
representing
businesses
and
nonprofit
organizations
outside
of
his
law.
Practice.
Allen
has
served
in
a
number
of
leadership
roles
in
the
community,
including
chairing
the
board
of
the
Columbus
State
University
Foundation,
the
Columbus
Museum
2014.
He
chaired
the
board
at
the
Greater
Columbus
Chamber
of
Commerce.
Please
welcome
Alan
hawse
chow.
B
B
B
Teresa
was
reelected
to
a
second
term
again
with
over
60%
of
the
vote,
making
her
the
first
mayor
since
the
city's
consolidation
in
1971
to
win
re-election
in
a
contested
race.
Teresa
has
six
times
been
named
as
Georgia
trends,
a
hundred
most
influential
Georgians
and
she's
well
known
throughout
the
nation.
For
another
hat
that
she's
worn
in
recent
years.
She
and
a
number
of
other
interested
alumni.
A
sweet
bar
college
were
very
disturbed
to
learn
in
2015
that
the
then
current
Board
of
the
College
wanted
to
close
it
for
financial
reasons.
B
They
came
together
successfully
reversed
that
Board's
decision
had
a
new
board
elected
and
for
the
last
two
years,
mayor
Thomas
and,
in
addition
to
her
duties
here
in
Columbus,
has
chaired
the
board
at
Sweet
Briar
College,
which
has
gone
through
some
major
major
changes,
now
has
a
wonderful
new
president.
It
is
on
the
upswing,
which
makes
my
wife
who's
also
a
graduate
bright,
very
happy.
C
First
of
all,
let
me
say:
I
cannot
believe
the
size
of
this
crowd.
I
think
this
is
probably
the
biggest
one
you've
ever
had,
and
so
Brian
I
commend
you
and
your
staff
for
all
that
you've
done
and
and
I
do
want
to
say
to
all
the
folks
Brian's
already
mentioned
so
I'm
not
going
to
redo
that.
But
but
it's
amazing
to
see
you
all.
C
Thank
you
for
being
such
tremendous
leaders
of
Columbus
Georgia
from
my
old
wall
partners
here
from
Pope
McCleary
department
heads
our
city
manager
and
City
Council,
but
all
of
you
all
who
do
so
much
to
make
this
a
great
city.
Thank
you,
I
think
you
know
Brian.
We
have
had
these
six
or
seven
State
of
the
City
speeches
and
those
are
great
things
when
you're
setting
out
what
you
did
last
year,
what
you're
gonna
do
next
year,
but
instead
of
being
talked
to
for
a
change,
I
thought.
C
C
For
this
city,
a
couple
of
things
were
going
on
that,
maybe
not
all
of
us
appreciated,
but
we
were
transitioning
to
a
minority
majority
community
and
if
you
don't
have
leadership
with
a
deep
bona
fides
in
all
cultures
and
communities
throughout
your
city.
That
can
be
a
very
unstable,
very
volatile
time
and
so
I
think
we
needed
somebody
who
not
only
had
that
bona
fides,
but
also
was
very
communicative,
who
spent
a
lot
of
time
in
all
of
those
areas
and
realized
and
honored
that
the
city
was
making
this
huge
transformation.
C
You
know
the
cultural
arts,
development,
everything
from
Nagi
Dorsey
to
Bo
Bartlet,
not
just
having
you
know,
CSU
and
all
the
generous
sponsors
that
supported
those
various
artists.
But
saying
the
mayor
supports
this
too,
and
so
I
think
that
the
that
sort
of
energy
really
added
to
that
transformation.
I
will
say.
Another
thing
that
was
going
on
was,
of
course,
the
internet
and
social
media,
and
so
no
longer
were
you
going
to
be
able
to
have
in
a
community
this
size.
C
The
sort
of
traditional
political
construct
where
you
had
political,
surrogates
and
political
surrogates
existed
in
a
lot
of
there's
nothing
pejorative
about
that.
It's
just
a
reality
in
smaller
communities,
there's,
usually
10
or
12
people,
whether
it's
the
bank
president
or
the
school
superintendent
or
the
county.
You
know
there's
10
or
12
people.
You
can
get
them
in
one
room
and
you
pretty
much
decided
what
you're
going
to
do
and
if
you're
a
regular
citizen,
then
you
go
to
one
of
those
10
or
12
circuits
and
try
to
lobby
for
your
your
circumstance.
C
Well,
at
some
point,
your
city
gets
too
complex,
too
populous
for
that
kind
of
old
structure
and
advent
of
social
media
really
put
that
you
know
fueled
that
flame,
and
so
we
needed
a
mayor
who
was
going
to
be
able
to
respond
to
200
emails
and
Facebook
messages
and
private.
You
know
messenger
and
text
messages
so
that
everybody
had
direct
access
to
their
mayor,
so
we've
really
had
a
political
transformation
to
of
direct
access
to
the
mayor
and
I.
C
A
Those
conversations
we'll
talk
about
things
that
have
been
achieved
or
accomplishments
and
hate
even
use
word
legacy
this
early
in
the
conversation,
but
we're
not
gonna
have
the
chance
to
talk
to
you
next
year.
If
you
had
a
local
in
the
seven
years
to
term,
or
what
do
you
think
will
be
some
of
the
things
that
are
talked
about?
There
were
major
accomplishments
of
your
administration.
Well,.
C
Somebody
had
to
get
that
ball,
rolling
and
I
think
the
reality
and
I
want
you
all
here
to
take
this
message
and
go
back
home
and
spread.
It
is
that
this
is
going
to
happen.
You
may
not
appreciate
the
fact
that
we've
been
to
the
US
Department
of
Transportation
we've
been
to
DC
to
the
Federal
Highway,
the
federal
rail
administration
we've
been
meeting
with
folks
at
the
Georgia.
C
You
know
the
Georgia
Dome
we've
been
talking
about
this
with
the
right
people
and
the
Columbus
to
Atlanta.
High-Speed
passenger
rail
is
probably
one
of
the
top
three
to
five
most
viable
high-speed
passenger
rail
lines
in
the
country.
So
you
just
need
to
digest
that
for
a
minute
and
when
and
if
that
happens
and
I'm
going
to
say
when
it
happens,
our
airports
going
to
become
the
low
cost
carrier
hub
for
the
Southeast
region
of
the
United
States,
meaning
Norwegian
air
is
going
to
be
landing
here.
Jetblue
is
going
to
be
landing
here.
C
C
Hopefully,
I'll
still
be
around
I
think
so
you're
talking
about
something
that
from
decision
to
two
ribbon
cutting,
would
take
about
16
years,
which
is
not
unusual
for
something
that
complex
but
we're
on
the
cusp
of
it.
We're
heading
there,
but
a
couple
of
other
quick
things
that
people
probably
think
a
little
bit
more
of
today,
related
to
what's
happened
over
the
last
seven
or
so
years,
community.
Revitalization,
you
know
I
ran
on
reversing
blight.
C
What's
that
about,
and
so
those
are
the
things
that
we
now
have
a
four
phase
plan
to
turn
that
around
to
make
that
a
creative
village
to
make
it
a
place
where
people
want
to
live
to
expand
the
success
of
Uptown
and
I.
Think
that
you
know
most
certainly
will
be
a
legacy
and
I
would
like
to
think
some
of
the
other
things
and
I'm
sure
we'll
get
more
in
depth
with
with
probably
more
particular
questions.
C
I
won't
belabor
the
point,
but
this
really
has
been
seven
years
of
some
intensive
solution
making
and
strategic
thinking
and
some
pretty
difficult
circumstances
with
the
help
of
our
city
manager,
our
counselors,
our
finance,
director
and
others.
We've
been
able
to
completely
remake
our
budget
and
I'm,
saying
we've
saved
your
tens
of
billions
of
dollars,
and
hopefully
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that
if
Brian
gets
into
the
specifics.
C
But
but
that
has
been
something
that's
been
transformational
I
think
also,
you
know
things
quality
of
life,
adding
66
miles
of
biking
trails,
so
that
we
do
have
that
type
of
environment
that
Millennials
want
to
come
to
when
I
came
into
office.
Maybe
a
lot
of
you
all.
Don't
this
isn't
an
important
issue
to
you,
but
it's
certainly
a
mark
of
how
sophisticated
community
you
have
when
I
came
into
office.
We
were
euthanizing
80%
of
the
pets
that
were
brought
into
our
Animal
Care
and
Control
Center.
C
Now,
even
if
you're,
not
an
animal
lover,
that
just
kind
of
strikes
you
is,
is
that
the
best
we
can
do
right,
but
many
of
you
are
animal
lovers
and
there's
certainly
best
practices,
and
so
with
the
leadership
of
Lisa,
Goodwin
drill,
short
Pat
Baylor
and
some
others.
We
cherry
picked
some
things
we
saw
working.
C
Working
with
our
awesome
partners,
like
you
know,
animal
Ark
and
others-
we've
been
able
to
now
be
a
no-kill
City,
we're
below
10%
as
a
community
as
a
whole,
and
when
people
see
that
you
would
think
well,
nobody
who's
really.
Looking
at
that
they're
looking
at
workforce
that
and
almost
but
if
they
were
to
see
that
we
were
an
80%
euthanasia
rate,
they
would
thing
these
people
can't
run
anything
I
mean
you
know,
they're
behind
and
now
we're
one
of
the
best
in
the
country.
C
C
Where
now
we
have
the
most
GED
graduates
at
our
state
prison
talk
about
going
from
worst
to
first,
when
I
came
in
two
months
after
I
came
in,
we
had
to
have
the
Georgia
Department
of
Corrections
take
over
our
prison
because
it
was
that
dysfunctional
and
we
got
our
awesome
warden
bright
Hamrick,
and
now
we
are
handing
out
the
most
GEDs
at
any
work
camp
in
the
state
of
Georgia.
So
that
kind
of
thing
that
that
is
the
type
of
solution
making
strategic
thinking,
I
hope
that
will
be
remembered.
So.
A
C
They
were
I
mean
they
were.
You
know,
there's
a
lot
of
tough
days,
obviously,
but
I
think
there
were
two
days
that
were
really
almost
so
breaking.
Frankly,
one
was
certainly
the
lawsuits
and
the
other
was
was
we
were
moments
away
from
having
to
lay
off
about
a
hundred
20
of
our
workers,
but
I'd
have
to
say
the
the
most
difficult
one
was
the
day
the
lawsuits
were
filed.
C
They
just
thought
that
we
would
cave
in
and
I
want
to
commend
our
City
counselors,
because,
let
me
tell
you
a
lot
of
people
would
and
a
lot
of
people
do
around
this
state
when
they
get
sued
in
similar
fashions.
They
just
cave
in
and
write
a
check
and
be
done
with
it
by
our
counsel,
new
led
by
Clifton,
Faye
and
and
and
and
Lucie
chef
Dylan.
C
C
Our
friends
in
the
media
started
calling
me
because
they
wanted
a
response
to
this
bombastic
spectacle
of
a
press
conference
that
had
just
been
held
so
I
walk
into
the
conference
room
and
they're
getting
their
mics
and
their
lights
all
set
up
and
I
can't
remember
if
it
was
Mike
house
key
or
maybe
Robin
with
a
ledger,
snapped
a
picture
as
they
were
waiting
and
so
there's
just
a
plain
look
on
my
face.
Like
a
look
on
y'all's
faces
right
now
you
know
I'm,
not
mad
I'm,
not
sad
I'm,
not
fear.
C
You
know
it's
just
a
look,
but
my
eyes:
I
actually
got
a
picture
of
this
from
the
ledger
and
I.
Have
it
on
my
desk
and
at
home
I.
Remember
exactly
what
I
was
thinking
at
that
time
and
I
was
thinking
that
this
was
going
to
be
such
a
divisive
such
a
wasteful
long,
long,
Trek
and
I
was
literally
physically
nauseous
and
and
that
it
was
going
to
the
very
root
of
things
that
our
citizens
care
about,
which
is.
C
You
know
there
are
a
lot
of
high
fives.
Let
me
say:
I
mean
when
you,
when
you
pull
something
we
pull
victory
from
the
jaws
of
the
defeat
as
city
manager
and
and
other
folks
in
the
room
we
we've
done.
Those
are
great
days
but
I
have
to
say
you
know,
working
with
I.
Don't
know
that
you
all
know
this,
but
the
mayor
actually
works
a
lot
with
kids
because
in
the
second
grade,
kids
learn
about
government,
so
I
go
to
every
single
elementary
school
and
speak
to
every
girl's.
C
Inc,
and
you
know
all
that
and
talk
about
government
every
camp.
So
one
day
I'm
at
this
at
the
local
elementary
school,
2nd
grader
I
mean
the
kid
can't
be
seven
years
old
and
he
walks
up
to
me
in
the
most
adult
voice
and
it
was
2014.
So
I
was
running
for
reelection
and
he
says
mayor.
He
said:
I
went
to
camp
this
summer
at
the
National
infantry
museum
camp.
He
said
there
were
veterans
in
and
out
of
that
place
all
week
long.
If
you
need
some
help
with
a
veterans
vote.
Let
me
know.
C
Probably
and
I
could
really
write
a
book.
I
swear
to
you,
but
but
but
there
was
one
I
tell
you
a
beautiful
moment
that
had
to
be
the
most
joyous
moment.
I
went
to
another
elementary
school
and
you
know
afterwards.
The
teacher
wants
to
take
a
picture
to
hang
it
up.
You
know
on
the
wall
and
show
the
kids
that's
the
mayor.
She
was
here
so
real.
You
know,
huddled
around
and
and
and
their
second
graders.
C
They
like
to
hug
and
and
I
felt
this
little
head
right
in
the
small
on
my
back
and
so
I
turn
around.
There's
this
little
boy
there
and
and
I
can't
wear
what
he
said
now,
but
he
said
something
really
smart
and
I
said
well,
aren't
you
smart?
Your
mom
must
be
so
proud
of
you
and
he
hung
his
head
and
he
said
he
said:
I'm
a
foster
child
and
I
said
you're
a
foster
child
I
said
man,
they
are
so
lucky.
C
They
got
you,
they
could
have
had
anybody
and
they
got
you
and
he
said
I'm,
Mexican
and
I
said
you're
Mexican
I
said:
did
you
know
that
Mexicans
invented
math?
Of
course
I
was
referring
to
the
Mayan
discovery
of
zero
and
all
that
they
explained
that
to
him.
But
I
said:
did
you
know
that
Mexicans
invented
math
and
he
said
no
and
I
said?
Are
you
good
at
math
and
he
said
yeah.
C
C
My
office,
if
she
was
taking
pictures
and
so
afterward
she
said
what
did
you
say
to
that
little
boy
and
I
told
her
the
story.
She
said
man,
you
got
to
see
this
picture.
She
said
I
took
this
picture
of
his
face,
so
he
back
at
the
office
and
she
calls
me
said,
come
in
here
and
look
at
this
and
there
was
this
picture
of
this
kid.
You
know
it's
hard
to
explain
in
that
moment.
He
realized
I'm
gonna,
be
somebody
you
know,
and
so
I
tell
people
all
the
time.
C
A
C
It's
like
post-traumatic
stress
syndrome
here
you
battle
all
that
off,
but
you
know
it
was
tough
here
we're
facing
the
the
deepest
recession
longest
recession.
We've
had
certainly
the
most
economically
impactful
thing.
That's
happened
to
the
entire
nation,
since
the
Great,
Depression
and
Columbus
was
hit
as
well,
and
the
effect
in
Columbus
was
just
incredibly
long.
C
I
mean
it
was
just
incredibly
long
and
of
course,
the
council
right
before
I
got
in
did
what
every
single
council
in
the
world
should
have
done,
which
was
rely
on
the
rainy
day
fund,
because
how
long
can
a
recession
last
right,
and
so
they
were
prudently
and
dutifully
using
that
savings
account
to
get
us
through
those
bumpy
years
and
then
they
just
the
years
just
kept
rocking
on
and
walking
on
and
rocking
on,
and
so
by
2014.
We
were
faced
with
a
brick
wall.
C
Frankly,
there
was
no
more
savings
that
was
it
and
and
and
revenue
was
still
down
and
sales
tax
was
still
down
and
then,
of
course,
the
sequester
and
the
drawdown
from
the
Mideast,
the
conflicts
in
the
Mideast.
So
our
forty
thousand
person
employer
begins
to
decline
in
activity
which
then
just
prolongs
that
recessionary
effect
and
continue
to
have
a
downward
trend.
You
know
a
lot
of
people
don't
realize
this,
but
since
I
came
into
office,
our
revenues
have
decreased
four
point
three
percent,
and
so
we
had
to
get
smart.
C
We
reformed
our
health
care,
you
know,
which
was
increasing,
obviously
got
really
innovative,
with
some
genius
work
by
Rita,
Halliwell,
Pam
Hodge
and
some
of
our
you
know,
consultants
that
helped
us
got
a
health
and
wellness
center
and
and
basically
went
from
27
million
dollars
a
year
to
23
million
dollars
a
year.
That's
how
we
were
able
very
last
minute
to
avert
laying
off
120
people,
but
one
of
the
political
difficulties,
of
course
was
the
very
people
who
we
were
going
to
be
laying
off.
C
They
didn't
know
exactly
who
it
was,
but
they
were
the
ones
who
fought
us
the
hardest
about
increasing
deductibles
and
increasing
co-pays.
But
we
went
through
those
choppy
waters
and
I
think
that
was
maybe
unanimous
to
and
again,
we've
certainly
curbed
the
cost
of
the
increase
and
then
reform
that
from
27
million
to
about
23
24
million,
which
is
saved
us
millions,
so
I
would
say,
and
then
you've
got
workers
comp,
which
has
been
cut
in
half
saving
millions.
C
We've
stopped
sort
of
a
trim
that
we're
not
nobody's
who's
still
with
a
city
really
even
knows
how
it
started,
but
have
laid
out
some
pretty
big
sums
to
nonprofit
organizations
that
we
all
care
very
much
about,
but
you
know
didn't
need
to
be
part
of
the
city's
budget
saved
about
a
million
dollars
a
year.
So
the
long
is
sure
that
fine
is
that
we've
completely
reformed
our
budget,
so
we're
in
a
very
good
place
to
move
forward
and
take
opportunities
in
the
future.
C
But
I
think
in
you
and
I
have
talked
about
this
and
I
know.
The
Development
Authority
is
very
clued
into
this,
but
we've
got
to
continue
to
diversify
our
economy,
because
the
you
know,
federal
urban
flow
of
funding
for
our
military
bases
is
depend
on
a
lot
of
different
things
and
we
can't
have
our
community.
You
know
held
hostage
by
that.
We
need
to
have
other
irons
in
the
fire
so
with.
A
A
C
I
think
there's
a
little
you
can
see
in
some
of
the
charts
that
are
up.
You
know
that
we
finally
are
seen
an
uptick
in
our
property
tax
digest.
So
that's
a
good
trend,
we're
finally
up
ticking
in
a
sales
tax.
That
looks
good
and
we
are
very
lean.
We
are
very
efficient.
We
have
a
proactive
executive
staff,
as
I
said,
and
so
they're
going
to
keep
that
I
think
maybe
for
the
future.
The
tough
political
challenge
will
be
not
to
revert
to
some
of
those.
C
You
know,
there's
always
people
who
want
a
little
some
right
and
so
and
it's
tough
to
say
no,
because
it's
all
just
as
valid
as
the
requests
that
came
in
before
and
you
want
to
do
it,
but
not
to
revert
to
old
habits
of
funding
things
that
maybe
we
shouldn't
have
been
funding
and
keeping
on
this
with
the
pension
reform
and
so
forth
to
continue
reaping
those
benefits,
so
yeah
I
think
we
are
set.
We
are,
are
so
ready
to
jump
into
this
future
and.
A
This
time,
yes,
last
six
years,
only
one
public
issue
or
talked
about
issue.
Let's
talk
a
little
about
public
safety
in
our
city.
Being
that
the
safest
it
can
be.
You
know
social
media,
good,
diving,
different
talks
about
things
sometimes
with
the
facts.
Sometimes
without
you
see
comments
like
is
out
of
control.
You
know
it's
unsafe
good
on
the
street.
C
Well,
first
I
would
say-
and
this
is
one
of
the
most
difficult
things
because
there's
a
huge
disconnect
between
actual
facts
and
the
emotionalism.
We
feel
about
this
important
issue
and
so
I
tried
to
come
up
with
an
analogy.
I
think
when
we
look
at
our
crime
stats
every
year,
we
need
to
look
at
them
just
like
we
do.
C
When
we
go
to
get
our
annual
physical
right
and
the
doctor
comes
in,
he
says
man,
you've
lost
15
pounds,
you
stopped
smoking,
you
know
your
blood
Sugar's
way
down,
but
men
and
your
cholesterol
is
through
the
roof.
We
you're
gonna
have
a
stroke.
We
got
to
do
something
about
this.
Well,
you
don't
go
home
and
start
smoking
in
eating
Twinkies
right
I
mean
you
keep,
but
you've
done
good
and
what
you're
making
progress
on
and
then
you
start
taking
your
medicine,
your
treatment
and
so
forth.
We
had
to
think
the
same
way
about
crime.
C
I
mean
this
is
a
very
dynamic.
You
know
multifaceted,
community
and
so
I
want
you
all
to
look
at
the
materials
that
you've
been
provided
and
take
them
home
and
be
prepared
to
engage
in
conversations,
because
I
cannot
believe
the
number
of
community
leaders
that
I
see
on
Facebook,
or
that
say
that
just
parrot
these
things
that
are
just
inaccurate,
our
crime
is
down.
Since
we
approved
the
Oh
lost
in
the
2008-2009
timeframe.
C
Our
crime
is
down
39%,
so
your
investment
has
paid
dividends
and,
and
overall
crime
is
down,
as
I
said,
thirty
nine
percent-
that
is
the
lowest
part.
One
crimes
have
been
in
this
city
since
1984
nineteen
eighty-four,
our
Larsen
EES,
are
at
a
34
year,
low
larceny
czar
at
the
lowest
rate.
They
have
been
in
Columbus
Georgia
since
nineteen.
Eighty
three
auto
thefts
are
the
lowest
rate
in
25
years.
Burglaries
are
at
the
lowest
rate
in
15
years,
aggravated
assault,
the
third
lowest
rate
in
28
years.
C
Murders
was
the
highest
rate
we've
had
since
1980,
since
we
started
keeping
the
statistics
in
this
particular
way.
So
is
crime
out
of
control.
No
murder.
This
last
year
was
out
of
control,
but
I
will
tell
you
you
know.
During
my
term,
we've
also
had
two
years
where
the
murder
rate
was
17,
two
years
where
it
was
20
or
22,
and
so
those
weren't
good
years
either.
Nobody
was
calling
me
then
saying
we
do
a
great
job.
They
were
saying
how
outrageous
we
had
17
murders.
C
You
need
to
get
busy
right,
so
it's
never
gonna
be
low
enough
until
the
year
that
we
report
zero
murders,
it's
never
gonna
be
low
enough
and
you
need
to
stop
participating
and
beating
us
up.
It's
almost
like,
if
you
woke
up
every
day
and
told
your
child,
he
was
worthless.
Eventually,
he's
gonna
start
believing
you.
So
if
you
wake
up
every
day
and
start
telling
your
friends
and
your
colleagues
and
your
neighbors
that
this
is
a
crime
ridden
hellhole
of
a
city,
people
would
start
believing
you
so
arm
yourself
with
a
facts.
C
I'd
like
to
see
another
community,
another
police
chief,
that
has
reduced
crime
39%
in
just
these
few
years.
So
you
know
we
all
like
to
thank
police
officers,
I'm
not
asking
you
to
not
be
factual
or
to
be
delusional
or
or
any
of
that
we
can
talk
candidly
about
crime
absolutely.
But
you
need
to
know
that
these
police
officers
have
been
equipped
by
our
City
Council
with
the
budgets.
They
need
yes
to
hire
more
police
officers
not
enough,
but
to
hire
more
police
officers,
but
also
with
the
technology.
C
They
need
to
do
just
what
they've
been
doing,
which
is
attacking
crime.
So
we've
got
a
lot
of
work
ahead
of
us
Brian
absolutely,
but
I
do
ask
for
the
leadership's
help
and
not
just
for
me,
I
mean
this
is
my
last
my
last
rodeo
right,
it's
my
last
time
around,
but
even
for
the
next
mayor
be
more
responsible,
please
and
and
how
you
talk
about
crime,
educate
yourself
with
the
information
in.
A
Response
to
that
we
have
started
a
public
safety
committee
as
we're
standing
commuters
at
the
chamber.
I'm
going
to
keep
this
conversation
going
to
make
sure
we
are
looking
at
facts,
making
sure
that
we
can
and
address
issues
transparently
and
and
off
of
the
accountability
we
need.
We
don't
need
to
be
with
our
police,
chief
and
officers
and
other
Public
Safety
leaders
to
make
sure
that
we,
you
know.
A
You
know
it's
secret
chamber
community,
but
as
long
as
we
it's
important
to
keep
this
conversation
going
in
addition
to
the
work
of
Clemens
2025,
which
is
you
can't
get
crime
to
do
to
certain
levels,
unless
you
do
something
about
poverty
and
helping
people
move
up
the
ladder,
so
we're
working
on
that
simultaneously.
So
thank
you.
That's
questions
and
I
think
it'd
be
a
protist
I'm
filing
the
plus
line.
Please
thank
our
public
safety
officers.
A
C
Absolutely
again,
that's
not
to
say
we
don't
still
have
troubles,
but
we
have
you
know
35
more
police
officers
and
we
had
before
and
yes,
we
want
to
get
a
hundred
more
and
we
work
on
it
every
day.
But
you
need
to
know
that
you
have
one
of
the
best
police
departments
in
the
United
States
of
America
and
I.
C
Don't
say
that
because
I'm,
the
cheerleader
of
the
city
I,
say
that
because
a
dispassionate
third-party
group
has
determined
and
certified
Columbus
Georgia
for
many
years
as
Kalia
certified
police
department,
meaning
we
ascribe
to
best
practices,
we
only
hire
the
best
of
the
best.
Yes,
they
go
through
psychological
testing.
They
go
through
extensive
background
checks.
We
check
their
social
media,
so
we
don't
just
hire
anybody.
We
hire
the
best
of
the
best.
I
mean
the
police.
You
know,
Chief
could
go
out
tomorrow
today
and
hire
70
more
police
officers
and
have
us
at
a
hundred.
C
That's
what
you
want,
but
we're
not
gonna
get
just
anybody
would
give
them
a
badge
and
a
gun.
Okay,
you're
gonna
get
the
quality
police
officer
that
you
expect
and
so
they're
very
selective
and
the
ones
that
we've
had
been
wonderful,
I.
Think
I
just
said
this
Brian,
you
know
a
lot
of
times.
People
say:
I,
hadn't
lived
in
Columbus
all
my
life
crimes
never
been
this
bad
and
I
hate
to
bring
up
bad
things.
I
truly
do
but
don't
forget
I
mean
we
had
the
stalking
strangler.
You
know
we
had.
C
We
had
at
one
point
a
serial
kidnapper
who
kidnapped
and
beat
a
child
to
death.
Imagine
if
social
media
had
been
around
at
that
time.
Police
officers
would
not
have
been
able
to
do
their
jobs
because
it
would
have
been
such
a
drain
on
their
time
having
to
deal
with
all
of
that.
So
it's
a
new
day
you're
hearing
about
things
much
more,
but
don't
ever
tell
yourself
that
there's
never
been
bad
crime,
we're
like
any
urban
dense
community.
C
A
The
best
and
largest
to
professionalization
in
the
country
and
these
these
folks
are
engaged
a
they
care
about
this
place.
It's
we
went
to
them
and
said:
what's
on
your
mind,
what
some
thoughts
you
have
and
they
had
a
couple
questions
they
would
get
your
opinion
on.
For
instance,
how
do
you
think
was
20-25
will
affect
the
City
of
Columbus
I
have.
C
So
I
won't
belabor
that,
but
this
is
basically
where
the
Development
Authority
and
what
people
think
traditionally
of
what
development
authorities
should
be
doing,
is
meeting
the
reforming
of
our
poverty
situation
in
our
community,
because
Brian
at
the
Chamber
or
other
business
leaders
and
development
authority
leaders
have
recognized
that
we
can't
deliver
the
workforce.
We
need
to
be
a
competitive
community
if
we
have
a
20%
poverty
rate,
you
just
can't
because
it
affects
how
the
kids
do
in
school.
C
It
affects
the
crime
rate,
it
affects
the
quality
of
the
workforce,
and
so
you
know
we
can
bang
on
the
superintendent
all
day
and
tell
them
to
get
better
curriculum
and
better
teachers
and
all
this.
But
if
we
haven't
done
something
about
poverty,
if
we
haven't
done
something
about
Brighton
neighborhoods,
then
then
we're
not
giving
him
the
resources
he
needs
to
mold
our
great
new
leaders
and
our
great
new
workforce
citizens.
So
Columbia's,
25,
20
25,
doesn't
talk
a
lot
about
that
aspect.
C
Maybe
I
don't
flesh
it
out
quite
like
that
they're
very
data-driven,
but
that
I
think
is
so
revolutionary.
You
Brian
are
be
commended.
The
folks
that
are
leading
that
billy
audrey
and
jimmy
ansi
need
to
be
committed
for
their
leadership,
because
it's
going
to
fundamentally
change
things
in
this
community,
and
it's
looking
at
that.
Next,
diversifying
you
know
creative
culture
in
a
way.
It's
looking
at
things
like
our
film
industry
that
CSU
is
so
involved
in
getting
involved
in
the
film
academy.
C
We've
had
some
great
meetings
recently
about
great
things
that
are
probably
going
to
be
happening:
they're
entering
into
the
robotics
industry,
partnering
with
Fort
Benning,
Fort,
Benning,
Tech,
Park
and
again
CSU,
and
so
you
know
what
you
all
have
done
with
a
chief
entrepreneurial
officer.
The
next
Google
is
going
to
be
invented
here
right
because
we're
we're
tilling
the
field
for
that
possibility
and
and
that's
where
communities
want
to
be
for
a
great
future.
A
C
It's
helped
and
it's
hurt
I
mean
you
know.
Social
media
is
such
a
good
thing,
obviously,
and
it
helps
with
transparency,
as
I
was
saying
before
people
feel
I
think
directly
connected
to
the
city
government,
certainly
to
the
mayor
and
to
other
elected
officials
through
social
media,
but
where
that
transparency
comes
more
vulnerability
right
and
so
you
become
vulnerable
to
more
criticism
and
and
sometimes
frankly,
it's
too
much
information,
but
that's
okay.
We
have
to
get.
We
have
to
get
used
to
digesting
this
information,
a
lot
of
consternation
with
the
crime
stats.
C
Frankly
and
with
our
our
budget
information
we'll
have
people
come
to
City
Council
on
the
public
agenda,
just
raising
Cain
because
they
got
hold
of
something
I
put
on
the
website,
I'm
sure
the
councillors
are
going
just
not,
but
they
you
know,
they've
got
it
on
the
wets
website
and
they
don't
understand
the
difference
between
municipal
accounting
and
you
know,
regular
business
accounting,
so
they're
all
mad,
that
we're
quote
hiding
money
and-
and
they
just
don't
understand
that
we
don't
sell
bridges
once
we
build
them
right.
We
don't
auction
off
our
roads
or
our
parks.
A
I
tell
some
leadership
lomis
students
yesterday
that
you
know
the
difficult
for
me
at
my
age
and
I'm
pretty
engaged
in
it's
hard
to
get
the
facts.
You
know
I
watch,
multiple
news
stories
and
hoping
I
can
figure
out.
What's
the
truth
as
I
navigate
through
them,
because
everybody's
got
their
own
filter
or
paradigm,
they
look
at
the
information
formats
can
be
even
harder
for
young
people.
Then
you
look
at
what
they
see
tax
did
or
on
the
social
media
sites
or
what
other
people
want
to
put
into
the
media.
C
You
know,
let
me
just
say
first
of
all,
I'm
not
sure
everybody
appreciates
that
that
we
have
the
largest
work
camp
in
the
state
of
Georgia
and
I.
Also
don't
know
if
everybody
appreciates
how
a
what
a
volatile
civic
issue
that
is.
There
is
a
large
segment
of
this
community
that
finds
that
reprehensible,
offensive
right
and
and
then
there's
a
large
segment
of
our
community
that
that's
just
the
way.
It's
always
been,
so
you
know
I
mean
they're
prisoners
they
get
out
and
get
out
and
see
some
sunshine.
Do
some
work.
C
You
know,
so
you
have
this
huge
dichotomy,
so
there's
always
the
opportunity
that
a
court
may
get
involved
or
or
certainly
politics
may
get
involved.
I
will
tell
you
that
just
a
few
years
ago,
I
think
it
was
maybe
two
years
ago
there
was
some
real
talk
about
doing
away
with
work
camps.
You
need
to
understand
that
our
work
camp
yields
about
17
million
dollars
in
value
to
the
city.
C
If
the
work
camps
were
to
go
away,
you
need
to
start
thinking
in
the
range
of
30
to
35
dollars
a
month,
okay
and
and
that's
just
sort
of
the
beginning.
So
one
of
the
things
that
I
think
we've
been
doing
with
the
budget
is
getting
it
in
a
place
to
where
we
are
so
efficient
that
if
we
get
thrown
a
curveball,
we
can
hopefully
have
a
little
bit
more
in
the
rainy
day
fund
to
transition
us
to
this
new
era,
but
I
think
going
forward
for
future
elected
officials.
A
C
It's
so
awesome
Brian.
Yes,
we
we
actually
do
some
of
those
things
through
a
committee
that
was
set
up,
Mayor,
Pro
tems
on
it
city
manager,
I,
believe
somebody
from
our
legal
department
is
on
it,
but
we
do
have
people
that
transition
out
of
prison
and
we've
gotten
rid
of
banned.
The
box
and
I
mean
we've
gotten
ban
the
box,
where
we
don't
require
people
to
check
that
they
have
felony
records
until
such
time
as
they
become
perhaps
on
the
shortlist.
C
Obviously
we
do
a
background
check,
but
we
have
an
opportunity
where
people
say
yes,
look
I've
done
I've
been
in
prison,
but
I've
been
the
one
operating
your
backhoe
at
the
at
the
landfill
I've
been
doing
it
for
three
years.
How
about
hire
me
to
do
it
now
and,
and
we
do
look
at
those
people-
we
do
hire
those
people.
We
need
to
start
doing
it
in
a
much
more
methodical,
much
more
regular
way.
Just
like
you
said
it.
We
have.
C
A
Next
few
weeks,
you'll
be
hearing
about
something
called
hiding
while
doing
good
we're
we
having
some
type
of
affairs
and
drink
the
lake's
is
in
here
somewhere
it's
in
circulation.
If
you
have
an
interest
to
me
to,
let
us
know
so,
we
can
make
sure
we
have
the
right,
HR
leadership
there
talk
about.
How
can
you
all
do
a
better
job?
We're
not
saying
you
know,
lower
your
standards
or
don't
be
care
to
be
concerned
about
bonding
there's
a
lot
of
state
and
federal
programs
out
there.
A
We
can
help
on
the
bonding
side
or
the
these
laws
can
help
to
make
sure
we
can
do
all
do
a
better
job
of
hiring
people
right
now,
at
the
low
unemployment,
almost
Fair
Employment
four
and
a
half
percent
in
the
state,
we've
got
to
do
some
of
this
work.
I
just
did
this
time,
rather
than
during
the
recession,
transportation.
C
Amazing,
actually
transportation
in
this
city
has
been
invested
in
very,
very
well
for
many
years
and
I
do
occasionally
will
you
know,
get
an
email
for
somebody
all
fired
up,
saying
that
traffic
is
horrible.
It
doesn't
such
intersection.
Just
outrageous
and
I
usually
say
how
many
red
lights.
Did
you
sit
through
and
well?
I
didn't
sit
through
a
red
light.
It
just
took
a
really
long
time
and
so
that
ain't
traffic
just
saying
but
but
in
any
event
it
is,
if
they're,
the
ones
sitting
through
it.
C
Obviously
so
I
always
say
a
couple
things
when
we've
invested
as
a
community.
Thank
you
all
in
the
Tees
Faust.
So
that's
three
hundred
million
dollars
over
ten
years,
which
has
allowed
us
to
do
some
incredible
projects
like
the
spiderweb
at
Buena,
Vista,
Road
and
st.
Mary's
and
and
we're
going
to
get
over
those
railroad
tracks
which
is
going
to
open
up
that
whole
segment
that
whole
sector
of
our
city
to
new
development.
C
Many
other
projects
like
Buena
Vista,
Road
ride
during
widening
the
bridge
there
to
allow
more
flow,
but
those
projects
are
going
to
make
a
huge
difference.
We
also,
you
know,
have
our
30
percent
of
the
olaf's,
which
we
use
for
infrastructure,
road,
repaving
things
of
that
nature,
so
the
meat
and
potatoes
of
expansion
and
paving
we
really
do
well
I
know
all
you
are
saying
well,
I
got
a
pothole
down
the
street
for
me
and
you
need
to
call
3-1-1
will
come
with
that.
C
But
but
yes,
we
do
the
meat
and
potatoes
well
we're
well
funded
for
that.
But
when
you
start
looking
at
these
other
things
like
high-speed
passenger
rail,
you
know
really
working
on
our
transit
because
Millennials
don't
care
to
own
cars,
and
certainly
these
gen
was
it
Jim
at
gen,
Z,
Gen,
Z,
kids,
don't
intend
to
own
cars,
and
so
what's
how's
the
city
going
to
accommodate
them:
zip
cars,
public
transportation,
using
uber
creatively
having
walking
biking
trails.
C
If
you
have
a
certain
age,
you
think
these
walking
biking
trails
are
silly
just
for
people
in
spandex
riding
bikes
right.
That's
actually
laying
an
infrastructure
for
people
who
never
intend
to
own
a
car.
I
know
that
blows
your
mind,
but
trust
me
they're
out
there
and
they're.
Actually,
the
very
type
of
people
we're
trying
to
lure
to
Columbus,
because
it's
that
next
generation
that
that
employers
want
to
see
coming
here.
A
C
To
distract
House
bill,
903,
which
everybody
needs
to
watch,
because
that
really
would
open
up
even
more
funding
for
some
of
these
innovative
things,
we're
talking
about
with
transit,
high-speed
passenger
rail
and
that's
some
of
the
stuff
that
Calvin
Smyre
II,
the
Dean
of
our
delegation
has
been
working
on.
If
that
happens,
that
that's
huge
for
Columbus
yesterday,.
A
House
Transportation
Committee
held
a
hearing
possible
project.
A
possibility
is
funding
for
expanding
Marta
into
Gwinnett
and
Cobb,
which
would
have
never
been
thought
about
five
years
ago.
So
Trans
is
certainly
a
Lightspeed
to
watch
it
because
it's
gonna
change
our
state,
hopefully
for
the
better.
C
39
percent
and
so
I
think
that
I
hope
that,
and
that's
fine
with
me
like
I,
can
handle
it.
I
got
into
this
business
because
I
have
a
super
thick
skin
I.
Guess
it's
genetic,
but
but
I
do,
and
so
that's
fine,
but
I
think
you
just
need
to
think
about
that
a
little
bit.
Why
is
it
so
hard
to
hear
from
a
female
leader
certain
information
that
if
a
male
colleague
said
it,
you
wouldn't
have
any
problem
with?
So
it's
just
something
we
need
to
keep
in
check.
C
I
would
say,
there's
a
couple
things.
We
need
to
continue
right,
reversing
this
blight
and
we
can't
just
stop
and
say
well
that
was
important
to
Mayor
Tomlinson,
so
we're
not
going
to
worry
about
it
anymore.
We've
made
such
strides
we're
on
the
precipice
of
doing
some
great
things
that
will
reverse
blight
forever
city
village,
Liberty
district,
many
others.
So
we
need
to
keep
that
in
the
forefront.
As
I've
said,
you
know,
high-speed
passenger
rail,
obviously,
but
the
thing
that's
on
the
front
burner
for
this
next
year
is
pay
reform.
We've
done
some.
C
We
believe
that
that,
through
some
hard
work
and
information,
Council
is
going
to
be
able
to
adopt
and
that's
something
we
have
to
do,
or
we're
going
to
continue
to
lose
great
people
and,
and
so
we're
going
to
have
to
invest
in
the
type
of
of
expertise
and
professionalism.
We
want
in
the
city,
so
I
would
say
most
certainly
pay
reform
and
we
hope
it's
not
big
news,
because
we've
been
talking
a
little
bit
about
it.
C
This
recession
has
left
us
in
a
period
of
time
where
we've
not
been
investing
meaningfully
in
resources
and
assets
like
South
Commons,
which
we
built
for
the
Olympics
in
the
90s.
If
we're
gonna
remain
competitive
and
to
continue
to
have
the
softball,
tournaments
and
and
economic
tourism,
we
have
got
to
reinvest.
C
We've
got
to
reinvest
in
our
our
parks
and
rec
centers
and
things
that
you
all
appreciate
and
use
every
single
day
and
we've
got
to
have
a
new
government
Center.
It's
not
a
luxury
folks.
That
place
is
frankly
a
fire
hazard.
As
you
have
read,
it's
not
a
place
that
we
should
feel
comfortable
inviting
the
public
into
in
the
future.
We've
certainly
done
what
we
can
to
mitigate
any
risk,
but
it's
not
something
we
can
continue
to
do
so.
C
I
would
say:
I
hope
that
the
things
to
do
is
that
in
2020
the
city
will
put
on
the
ballot
for
your
consideration
and
hopefully
approval
a
whimp
any
SPLOST
to
get
us
back
up
to
where
we
need
to
be
investing
in
this
capital.
That
will
we've
got
our
Bicentennial
coming
up,
I
mean
in
just
a
few
years
in
2028,
and
you
think,
oh
that's
so,
who
you
know,
but
from
a
bicentennial
celebration
and
reflection,
you
need
to
start
planning
now
to
make
sure
you're
where
you
want
to
be.
When
somebody
says
it's
200
years.
A
C
One
thing
I
would
say
that
you
know
it
is
true
if
you're
a
naysayer
right,
if
you're
a
negative,
Nelly
you're
gonna
get
more
attention
governmentally
than
anybody
else,
because
you're
the
one
who's
calling
you're
the
one
who
is
writing
letters
to
the
editor
and
sound
off,
saying
you're,
the
one
who's
posting
on
Facebook,
just
and
so
from
any
elected
official.
It's
easier
just
to
give
you
the
government,
you
want
and
move
on
and
all
you
good
people,
you
dignified
respectable
polite
people,
never
call,
and
so
you
get
naysayer
government.
C
You
need
to
remember
that
I
mean
just
recently
with
the
with
the
13th
Street
issue
that
we
had
I
mean
that
was
really
hard
for
councillors,
because
the
naysayers
were
calling
ringing
off
the
hook
right
and
then
every
time
I
run
into
somebody.
They'd
say:
oh
yeah,
I'm
totally.
For
that
I
hope
that
passes
and
I'd
say.
Did
you
call
your
counselor?
Oh?
No,
it's
definitely
gonna
pass.
I
was
like
well,
no,
it's
not
definitely
gonna
pass
there.
When
it
first
came
up,
I
would
say
it
was
maybe
10
Oh
or
8
against
it
happening.
C
So
it
was
only
because
you
all
got
involved
and
started
calling
your
counselors
and
talking
about
what
it
meant
to
you,
that
you
were
able
to
get
the
good
government
you
feel
you're
entitled
to.
So.
If
I
could
change
one
thing,
it
would
be
good
people
got
to
speak
up,
you
got
to
speak
up
and
you've
got
to
start
calling
your
counselors.
A
C
Well,
you
know,
look
I,
understand
and
we're
not
the
only
community
that
that
puts
you,
know
murder
and
crime
on
the
front
page,
almost
every
single
day,
you
know,
you've
got
these
producers
on
the
television
stations
they're
trying
to
fill
their.
You
know
their
slots
right,
and
that
is
the
easiest
thing
to
do-
is
go
down
and
pull
the
blotter
and
see
what
happened.
It's
a
lot
harder
to
call
down
to
the
city,
government,
Center
and
say:
hey.
What's
going
on
with
that
13th
Street
debate
everybody's
having
right,
that's
a
much
more
nuanced
article!
C
C
Getting
the
facts
out
that
there
are
times
where
it's
lazy,
journalism
and
I
think
the
the
ledger
and
our
our
TV
media
have
done
a
great
job
in
recent
years,
as
we've
leaders
have
been
having
this
conversation
saying,
look
if
it's
bad,
we
understand.
We
got
to
deal
with
it.
You
know
that's
the
job
we
signed
up
for,
but
don't
just
keep
hanging
us
with
one
aspect
of
the
community:
that's
negative
without
giving
equal
context
to
the
other
things
going
on.
C
So
I
think
with
you
know,
together
2017
and
some
other
things,
our
media
outlets
have
been
doing
a
better
job,
but
I
would
say.
Please
start
looking
at
how
interesting
and
dynamic
this
community
is
because
so
little
of
it
has
to
do
with
crime
and
we're
just
reinforcing
frankly
this
this
narrative
so
reporting
good
stories
and
and
getting
this
information
out
there
and
standing
by
it.
C
I
would
say,
agitation,
isn't
leadership
right,
it's
easy
to
lip
at
the
heels
when
you're,
not
actually
elected,
and
so
for
the
citizens
who
will
be
voting
and
those
who
will
be
running.
What's
your
big,
bold
vision,
what's
your
big,
bold
vision,
it's
easy
to
talk
about
all
the
things
you
think
somebody
else
didn't
do
right,
that's,
fine
and,
and
there
is
it
frankly,
a
high
I,
think
that
comes
from
being
an
agitator
and
so
watch
for
those
folks,
I'm,
not
sure.
If
those
folks
can't
turn
around
it's
fine
to
be
critical.
C
That's
part
of
the
political
debate
right.
Let's
talk
about,
what's
really
fallen
short.
What
you
need
to
do,
but
if
all
you're
hearing
from
somebody
is
agitation,
then
I
would
challenge
you
to
say.
What's
your
bold
vision
for
this
city
and
if
they
can't
answer
that
question
then
maybe
they're,
not
the
right
leader
for
the
right
time,
so
I
would
say,
prepare
to
leave
it
better
than
you
found
it
and
that's
not
through
slowly
being
an
agitator.
A
C
I
mean
I'd
say:
first
of
all,
you
know
the
state
of
our
city
is
incredibly
strong
right,
that's
what
this
event
is
about.
It
is
amazing,
where
we
are
and
Brian
you're
so
right.
Our
partners
have
been
waiting
for
this
moment.
There
was
a
time
in
which
we
needed
to
retool
to
meet
this
this
future,
this
creative
economy.
You
know
this,
this
technology
economy,
this
minority-majority
community.
C
We
now
have
we
needed
to
retool
to
appreciate
the
awesomeness
of
what
we
have
and
we're
there
now
we've
done
that
hard
work
thanks
to
you
at
the
chamber,
but
a
lot
of
folks
in
this
room
who
helped
retool
their
organizations
to
be
ready
to
help
us
and
so
we're
there.
In
fact,
you
know
yes,
you
know
my
legacy.
Maybe
my
legacy
will
be
the
one
that
just
rode
the
boat.
Yes,
we
all
could
go
down
those
awesome
rapids
of
success.
You
know
and
and
capture
this
big
bright
future.
A
A
That
spoke
last
night,
the
Boys
and
Girls
Club
dinner.
You
want
to
be
inspired.
You
feel
good
about
the
future.
Those
young
people
gave
a
speech
like
I've,
never
seen
before
no
disrespect
from
there.
They
could
have
followed
you
these
young,
ladies,
are
awesome.
So
I
do
see
the
best
away.
We
have
to
go
forward
if
you
need
examples
going
forward
in
those
types
of
our
settings,
I'd
be
miserable.
If
we
did
mention
the
hundredth
anniversary
celebration
for
for
baby
makes
Saturday
the
24th
at
the
national.