McDonough has been named one of Georgia’s safest cities by two separate ranking organizations, according to a presentation by officials at the City Council’s June 15 regular meeting. Acting Police Chief Ken Noble and Major Kyle Helgerson were invited by City Administrator Preston Dorsey, the police chief until two months ago, to attend the council meeting and accept the awards for a ranking of 24th safest city in the state from alarms.org and another citation from Safewise for 35th safest city.

At least two sources indicate that there are 535 chartered cities in Georgia, including consolidated cities and consolidated city-counties.

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Kelly Vinal walks through debris in her space at South River Arts Studio in DeKalb County on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. The artist studio was damaged in a fire on Wednesday. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

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Prosecutor Skandalakis has previously suggested that pursuing criminal charges against President Donald Trump may not be feasible until after he leaves office in 2029. (Craig Hudson/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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