City of Decatur

What City of Decatur does

The City of Decatur is a municipal government entity incorporated on December 10, 1823, by the Georgia General Assembly, serving approximately 23,000 residents within a 4.7 square-mile jurisdiction in DeKalb County, Georgia, just east of Atlanta. It provides core municipal services through departmental divisions including Police, Fire (two stations), Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Planning & Zoning, Municipal Court, Community Development, Finance, Human Resources, and an independent City Schools of Decatur system serving roughly 4,200 students across four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The city is led by a five-member elected City Commission with day-to-day operations managed by City Manager Andrea Arnold and a leadership team comprising two Assistant City Managers, a Deputy City Manager, a Chief of Staff/City Clerk, Police and Fire Chiefs with deputies, and Directors across Finance, HR, Parks & Recreation, Equity & Engagement, and Innovation & Strategy. Headcount is reported at 251-500 employees.

Service delivery combines in-person channels (City Hall at 509 N. McDonough St., four recreation centers, four pools, public works yard) with a digital services stack built on third-party civic technology infrastructure: CivicPlus for alerts/notifications and forms, CommunityPass for recreation registration, Parking.com and Park Mobile for parking payments, ArcGIS for city mapping, SeeClickFix for maintenance requests, decaturgatax.com for online tax payments, Google Translate for multilingual website access, and reCAPTCHA for bot protection. The technology portfolio is a federation of purpose-specific modules rather than a unified proprietary platform, with an AI chatbot 'Decatur Direct' (powered by Ordinal Connect) referenced in source material but attributed to a separate City of Decatur, Indiana entity. Solar-powered parking pay stations, text-to-pay mobile parking, and a digital citizen contact portal represent the most operationally distinctive technology deployments.

The revenue model is government-funded through six primary streams: property taxes (33.27 mills total 2025 rate, with 61 cents of every tax dollar funding schools, billed in two installments on June 1 and December 20 deadlines), annual sanitation fees with Pay-As-You-Throw bag system, storm-water utility fees scaled by impervious surface area, business licenses and permits from approximately 1,500 businesses, parks and recreation program fees (pool admissions, season passes, facility rentals), and parking fees at metered and deck locations ($3.00/hr metered; $6-$24/day decks). Service recipients fall into three primary segments: city residents, the ~1,500 local businesses across five walkable commercial districts, and visitors accessing downtown Decatur's MARTA-served retail and event venues.

Name

City of Decatur

Legal name

City of Decatur

Website

https://decaturga.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1823

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

City of Decatur is a municipal government serving approximately 23,000 residents across 4.7 square miles in DeKalb County, Georgia, providing public safety, parks and recreation, public works, planning, and an independent school system serving 4,200 students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Government Services

NAICS

Other General Government Support (921190), Executive Offices (921110), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Code Enforcement (BPAIACAE), Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF), Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (BPAIACAI), City Clerk/Records, Elections & Civic Engagement (BPAIACAB), Local Transportation, Parking & Mobility Administration (BPAIACAM)

Keywords

• Municipal government services
• Public safety administration
• Parks and recreation programs
• Sanitation and recycling services
• Property tax administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Decatur

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Property Taxes: Property taxes assessed on real estate within city limits. Assessed at 50% of appraised value. Tax bills sent in two installments (June 1 and December 20 deadlines).
2. Sanitation Fees: Annual fees for garbage/trash collection, recycling, yard waste, and street cleaning. Residential sanitation fee is billed annually in first installment. Uses 'Pay As You Throw' model with purchased bags.
3. Storm-water Utility Fees: Fees for storm drainage management based on property paved/covered areas. Billed annually in first installment. Revenue used for storm drainage improvements.
4. Business Licenses and Permits: Fees for business operations including licenses and alcohol permits. Collected from approximately 1,500 businesses.
5. Parks and Recreation Fees: Fees for park facilities, pools, recreation programs, and community center rentals. Includes swim passes, season passes, and program fees.
6. Parking Fees: Fees for metered parking and parking decks. Metered parking has two-hour limits enforced Monday-Saturday, 8am-6pm. Parking deck rates vary by facility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

City of Decatur is a municipal government providing administrative services to approximately 23,000 residents across 4.7 square miles in DeKalb County, Georgia. Core offerings include public safety (police and fire), parks and recreation programming, public works and sanitation services, planning and zoning, permitting and licensing, property tax administration, and community development. The city operates an independent school system (City Schools of Decatur) and delivers services through city hall offices, digital portals, parks and recreation facilities, and municipal parking infrastructure.

Product overview

City of Decatur operates a multi-platform digital services portfolio built on third-party civic technology infrastructure. The core offering consists of citizen-facing digital services including the CivicPlus-powered alert portal, CommunityPass recreation registration system, Parking.com/Park Mobile payment systems, and online tax payment via decaturgatax.com. The city also provides extensive Parks & Recreation programming through 4 recreation centers, 4 aquatic facilities, and Out of School Time programs. Communications channels include the Decatur Focus newsletter, city news publishing, and live streaming of government meetings. An AI chatbot 'Decatur Direct' (powered by Ordinal Connect) serves City of Decatur, Indiana. The portfolio is a platform of separate service modules unified by the city's website infrastructure, rather than a single integrated product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Decatur Direct: AI chatbot powered by Ordinal Connect providing public access to city information (City of Decatur, Indiana)
• Decatur Focus
• Out of School Time (OST) Program
• Decatur Recreation Department
• PALS

Products and services

• Citizen Contact Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Population within 30-minute commute of Decatur during rush hour: 1,209,668 with 520,399 college-educated residents - highest among Atlanta job centers studied
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Richland Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCCI Manufacturing's $45M Clean Energy Innovation Hub is a public-private partnership involving Richland Community College, the state of Illinois, and the City of Decatur, Illinois. The partnership opened the hub last year and includes a clean energy workforce academy as part of Richland's EnRich program.
• State of IllinoiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe $45M Clean Energy Innovation Hub is a public-private partnership including state of Illinois funding/incentives. The hub received the first EV industry incentive program in Illinois.
• Sister Cities InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecatur maintains its own identity while forging bonds with other communities locally, nationally and internationally. Other U.S. cities and counties named Decatur participate in some festivities. Decatur is a member of Sister Cities International.
• DeKalb CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeKalb County provides certain services for Decatur including animal control (when Decatur's part-time officer is unavailable), property assessments, elections, and voter registration. The city also partners with DeKalb County for water services and other infrastructure.
• Emory UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmory University ($628M external funding) anchors Decatur's research powerhouse status. Located two miles from Decatur city center. Partnership includes proximity to major research institution and talent pipeline (82,000 students within 20-minute drive).
• Georgia Institute of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeorgia Tech ($824M+ R&D funding) located five miles from Decatur city center. U.S. top 10 and global top 25 public universities with fourth best engineering program. Part of Decatur's research powerhouse positioning.
• MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMARTA rail station is located in Decatur's downtown square, providing transit access. The city website links to MARTA transit information for residents and visitors.
• Columbia Theological SeminaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocated on a 52-acre campus along Columbia Drive in Decatur's southeastern quadrant, anchoring that area of the city.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• City of Clarkston, GA: Adjacent DeKalb County city with overlapping equity, inclusion, and refugee resettlement programming—comparable for community-engagement and equity initiatives.

Direct peers

• City of Smyrna, GA: Cobb County city of comparable size (~56,000 residents) operating full municipal services including independent school overlay, parks, and downtown redevelopment programs.
• City of Chamblee, GA: Small DeKalb County city adjacent to Brookhaven and Decatur with similar walkable commercial districts, MARTA rail access, and small-city municipal service delivery model.
• City of Avondale Estates, GA: Very small DeKalb County municipality (under 4,000 residents) sharing Decatur's small-town character within the Atlanta metro, with comparable walkable downtown focus.
• City of Brookhaven, GA: DeKalb County-adjacent Atlanta-metro city of comparable size (~50,000 residents, ~11 sq mi) also providing independent municipal services including police, parks, and planning. Most directly comparable peer given shared suburban-core, transit-adjacent profile.
• City of Dunwoody, GA: DeKalb County municipality operating independent police, parks, and public works with similar residential/commercial mix and tax structure. Closely comparable operating scale and service catalog.

Broad incumbents

• City of Alpharetta, GA: Larger and faster-growing north Atlanta suburb with comparable tech-forward municipal services, low commercial vacancy, and proximity-driven economic development strategy.
• City of Marietta, GA: Larger Atlanta-metro city operating full municipal services with its own school system, providing a benchmark for scaled municipal governance in the same metropolitan context.

Others

• CivicPlus: Civic technology vendor powering Decatur's alert/notification portal and digital services hub. Not a peer in the municipal-governance sense, but a key infrastructure partner and ecosystem comparable for understanding Decatur's digital service stack.
• City of Decatur, IL: Name-sharing municipality; relevant only insofar as data occasionally conflates the two (notably the Decatur Direct AI chatbot reference). Provides a tech-stack reference point for similarly sized Midwestern municipal operations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/DecaturGA
• Instagraminstagram.com/decaturga
• Xx.com/CityofDecaturGA
• Facebookfacebook.com/decaturga
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-of-decatur

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City of Decatur