Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May is trying to make the most of his last year in office by repaving roads, bringing development to Memorial Drive and launching a free after-school program for middle-school students.
May was delivering his final State of the County address Thursday. He isn't running for election this year after leading the county for 2½ years.
May acknowledged the county's challenges — including corruption investigations and a failed effort to build a soccer complex — but he's focused on making the county faster and smarter.
“We’ve built a strong foundation for our county during a tumultuous season,” May said. “I want it to be known that we were thinking forward.”
May said voters will decide on a 1 percent sales tax in November that will raise money to repave hundreds of miles of bumpy roads. He's also consolidating litter cleanup, lawn mowing and code enforcement departments to coordinate beautification efforts.
As for new initiatives, May plans to start a pilot program to provide after-school care for DeKalb students. Details of the program weren’t immediately announced, but May said it would come at no cost to residents in partnership with the county school system, faith-based organizations and nonprofits. He said private donations will fund the program.
“The kids can come from their schools and go to after-school for a few more hours to help them academically, to help them with mentoring, to help them be in a nurturing and positive environment, to really help them with better outcomes,” May said. “I think it can really add value to our youth in DeKalb County.”
The after-school program will begin with a small test-run by the beginning of next school year, and then it could be expanded to cover the entire county if it’s successful.
May is also moving forward with long-term plans to relocate county government operations to Memorial Drive on government-owned land near the DeKalb Jail. Some of that land was envisioned as the site of Atlanta United's soccer headquarters, but the deal fell apart last year because of concerns about soil instability.
But the area remains suitable for building construction, and May hopes it will become a thriving “Downtown DeKalb,” featuring both government and businesses.
May also said he's working to raise county employee salaries this year while becoming more efficient by outsourcing some services.
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