To better serve county employees and streamline processes, the DeKalb County, Ga. Human Resources and Merit System (DeKalb HR) moved its quarterly policy council meetings online. The shift to digital has boosted attendance and made the meetings more efficient by enabling chat-based Q&A and real-time issue tracking, according to Jadia Haynes, the DeKalb County interim Human Resources director. 

Since the DeKalb County Department of Human Resources and Merit System-led policy council moved online, there has been a 50% reduction in grievances, a 67% increase in meeting participation and a 50% improvement in Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) processing efficiency for 6,600 employees, according to county data. 

DeKalb County has 45 departments, with more than 200 locations across the county where staff work, so many people who would otherwise want to attend the meetings when they were in-person were unable to, according to Katherine Furlong, interim deputy director, DeKalb County Human Resources Information Systems Division. 

Between the length of the actual meeting and the time it took to commute there and back, it could take up to three hours out of some people’s days, noted Haynes. 

County survey feedback shows 88% of department liaisons feel more informed and aligned with human resource policies after participating in a policy council meeting. Since shifting the meetings online, attendance has increased from an average of 75 people to 126.

“This gives the employees a lot more flexibility,” Haynes said. “So now the time commitment is a lot less, and more people can participate.”

The meetings are much more efficient and interactive now, as people can submit questions through Zoom’s chat feature, said Furlong. 

People share more often with the comment feature, which Haynes attributes to people feeling more comfortable typing a message vs. speaking up in-person or on camera. 

Policy council participants include directors, deputy directors, managers and department administrators. Utilizing Zoom enables the human resources department to review meetings to better inform the process and make improvements moving forward, Haynes said. 

“We can go back and check the chat too, and see what types of questions people ask, so we can make sure we can follow up to ensure that we’ve addressed them,” Furlong said. “If we don’t address them verbally in the meeting, we say, ‘OK, we’ll take that as an action item and come back and make sure we give that back to the team.’”

Human Resources has received “rave reviews” from county employees regarding the shift to virtual, Haynes noted. 

According to Kevin Buford, DeKalb County Parks and Recreation’s deputy director, the new structure has been “so valuable and useful.”

“We would be totally lost without this policy council,” said Debra DeBerry, DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court. 

An elderly motorist is accused of driving through a group of bicyclists in Georgia – knocking one over and fracturing his spine – before speeding off in a hit-and-run that was caught on camera.

Jerry Wayne Ross, 72, flashed a wide grin in his booking photo as he faces charges for the alleged hit-and-run with his Honda Pilot, all caught on video, on April 23 in Cherokee County, Ga, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The North Georgia Cycling Association was on their weekly Thursday night ride when the older driver was accused of driving up on the group in a suspected road rage incident.

The cycling group was in the middle of its 32-mile ride through Cherokee County when Ross appeared behind them, blasting his horn for nearly two miles along Sugar Pike Rd in Canton.

“Just excessive. Didn’t let off the horn,” Richard Collins, the leader of the group, told Fox 5 Atlanta.

The cyclists were riding double-wide along the scenic, rural road when Ross allegedly floored forward, alongside the leading pack of the group, according to video captured by one of the cyclists and obtained by the outlet.

Ross is believed to have pulled up alongside the first group of cyclists, striking one of the riders with his passenger side mirror.

“I turned to my left to see it, at that moment, that vehicle was on my left leg,” he said.

The cyclists, who became tangled up by the bump, collided into the side of Ross’ car and crashed onto the pavement.

The vehicle sped away as Collins was left lying in the road.

Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called to the scene.

He was later examined by an orthopedist and discovered he had suffered a fracture to his lower spine, he told the outlet.

Both cyclists were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Ross was found hiding out at a neighbor’s house down the road after officials from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spotted damage to his SUV consistent with hitting a bicycle.

The suspected driver told authorities that he had encountered the group of cyclists but denied responsibility, blaming the bikers for the collision, saying the riders had been in the middle of the road, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Ross was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, aggressive driving, hit-and-run and failing to maintain distance, according to jail records viewed by The Post.

He remains behind bars in the Cherokee County Jail with his charges totaling $24,540.

Rivian announced some changes today with regard to the factory its building in the state of Georgia.

The company was planning to build the facility in two phases, each resulting in 200,000 vehicles of annual production capacity, for a total of 400,000 units. Rivian held a ground breaking ceremony late last year.

Now the company says it is only planning for 300,000 units of annual capacity as a result of a revised loan agreement with the US Department of Energy — though its planning on hitting that annual capacity sooner than originally planned. DOE will now loan Rivian $4.5 billion, instead of the originally agreed amount of $6.6 billion, which had been announced in the last days of the Biden administration.

In 2024, Rivian put its Georgia factory plans on hold, as it lacked the funds to start the construction. The company argued that the pause also allowed Rivian to launch its mid-sized R2 vehicle sooner. R2 production kicked off at the company’s factory in Normal, Illinois this month. And meanwhile, Rivian was negotiating with DOE, now under the anti-EV Trump administration, to secure its loan.

Those negotiations have now resulted in a lower amount for Rivian. As vertical construction starts this year, the company says it expects to first draw on the loan by early 2027, and remains on track for vehicle production in Georgia in late 2028. The DOE loan “is aligned with the updated facility design and roadmap at up to $4.5 billion,” the company said in a press release.

The company also maintains it has plenty of space for future expansion, should it have enough money to fund the construction. Rivian reported rising revenue as part of its first quarter earnings.