From Potholes to a $4.27B Water Plan: How DeKalb County Gets Things Done

In this episode, Commissioner Chakira Johnson sits down with DeKalb County Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams to pull back the curtain on how the county actually operates day to day. You'll hear what the $4.27 billion water and sewer investment means for your neighborhood, why the permitting system is getting a long-overdue overhaul, and how DeKalb is preparing for the World Cup coming to Atlanta. From road paving to public safety to the new county website, this conversation connects the dots between big-picture policy and the services residents rely on every day. 0:00 - Welcome to Chakira's Corner 1:35 - Why Zach Williams came to DeKalb 3:50 - Commissioner Johnson joins the conversation 6:40 - What a county COO actually does 8:50 - Running a $1.9 billion operation 12:50 - Getting DeKalb ready for the World Cup 16:30 - Permitting, dashboards, and the new website 24:10 - How DeKalb has evolved (and SPLOST) 29:30 - The people who keep the county running 34:00 - The $4.27 billion water and sewer plan 40:40 - Final takeaways and how to reach them DeKalb County DeKalb County government — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov 311 Citizen Help Center (dial 311) — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/reside... Board of Commissioners — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/board-... Commission District 4 – Chakira Johnson — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/board-... Topics in this episode SPLOST (sales tax & projects) — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/splost... SPLOST project list — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/depart... Building permits — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/planni... ePlans / e-permitting portal — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/planni... Permit Tracker — https://experience.arcgis.com/experie... Watershed Management (water/sewer, Scott Candler plant, 10-year plan) — https://dekalbcountyga.gov/department... Discover DeKalb (CVB / World Cup) — https://discoverdekalb.com MARTA — https://www.itsmarta.com Grady Health — https://www.gradyhealth.org Reach Commissioner Chakira Johnson Email — [email protected] Bluesky / X — @CommissionerCJJ All platforms — https://linktr.ee/commissionerchakira...