A warmly received Mayor Andre Dickens gave a State of the City update to the Rotary Club of Atlanta on Dec. 4, touting several accomplishments since he had last spoken to the organization in May 2022.

The program began with a spotlight on a joint initiative between Rotary and the city – the Early Childhood Champions Initiative to help train and retain teachers of early learning.

“A year ago…, I came to you with our intention to invest $20 million in early childhood education, which was a first-of-its-kind investment for the city of Atlanta,” said Dickens, sharing credit with GEEARS, PAACT, the Atlanta Speech School and Stephanie Blank. “We had a $20 million goal, and we hit it. I really appreciate the Rotary Club of Atlanta seeing the value and importance and what we’re trying to do.”

Dickens said his “Year of the Youth” initiative successfully got summer employment for 5,000 young people making $17 an hour this past summer, compared to 3,000 the previous year, and 1,500 during his first summer in office.

On public safety, Dickens said that as of mid-November, citywide crimes, including homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, and shootings are down 20 percent from the year before.

During his talk and during the question-and-answer portion, the mayor was not asked about the current status of the public safety training center or about his support for transit and rail along the Atlanta BeltLine.

The mayor did report that the city’s finances are in good shape.

“The City of Atlanta continues to enjoy its strongest credit rating ever and the highest reserves in the city’s history,” Dickens said. “This administration will continue to be good stewards of our city’s resources.”

One of Atlanta’s major economic drivers is the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which is expected to have 110 million…