Mayor and Council Meeting Notice and Agenda - Council Chambers — Minutes
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April 06, 2026
7:00 PM
City of Smyrna
Mayor and Council Meeting
2800 King Street SE
Council Chambers
Page 3 of 10
encourage all residents to honor military children and their families for their service
and sacrifice.
Mrs. Clark thanked the Mayor and Council for acknowledging the Military Child. She
read a statement about the sacrifices each military child has to make, from moving
and changing schools multiple times to saying goodbye to friends and family,
B. PRC2026-008 Proclamation in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month
and National Crime Victims' Rights Week
Ward 2 Councilmember - Latonia P. Hines
Councilmember Latonia P. Hines presented and read aloud the following
proclamation:
A PROCLAMATION
BY THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SMYRNA
In Recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Crime Victims'
Rights Week
Whereas, children are our most valuable resource, and they are also our most
vulnerable. All of Georgia's children have a right to be safe and an opportunity to
thrive, learn and grow in an environment that fosters healthy development; and
Whereas, in federal fiscal year 2023, approximately 4.4 million reports were made to
child protective services nationwide; and
Whereas, childhood trauma can have long-term psychological, emotional, and
physical effects throughout an individual's lifetime and impact future generations of
their family; and
Whereas, child abuse and neglect can be prevented by supporting and strengthening
Georgia's families, thus preventing the far-reaching effects of abuse and neglect, and
providing the opportunity for children to develop healthy, trusting family bonds, and
consequently, building the foundations of communities; and
Whereas, effective child abuse prevention activities succeed because of the
partnerships created between child welfare professionals, education, health,
community- and faith-based organizations, businesses, law enforcement agencies,
and families; and
Whereas, communities must make every effort to promote programs and activities
that create strong and thriving children and families; and
Whereas, we acknowledge that we must work together as a community to increase
awareness about child abuse and contribute to promoting the social and emotional
well-being of children and families in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment; and
Whereas, prevention remains the best defense for our children and families; by
providing children with a safe, nurturing environment, free of violence, abuse, and
neglect, we can ensure that our children will grow as the next generation of leaders,
securing the future of this state and our nation; NOW
Therefore, I, Derek Norton, Mayor of the City of Smyrna, Georgia, do hereby proclaim
April 2026 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the City of Smyrna and