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DeKalb CEO frames sweeping agenda in 2026 State of the County
Summary
CEO Lorraine Cochran Johnson told an audience of officials and partners that her administration will 'reimagine' DeKalb County by investing in safety, housing, infrastructure and government modernization, citing several large-dollar initiatives and new programs.
Lorraine Cochran Johnson, CEO of DeKalb County, delivered the 2026 State of the County address to more than 850 attendees, framing her administration’s agenda as a choice to pursue bold transformation rather than incremental change. "Believe the unbelievable," Johnson said, opening a cinematic video that set the theme for the afternoon.
Johnson said the administration has invested in public safety, economic development, housing and government modernization, and touted partnerships with businesses and regional leaders. She acknowledged difficult choices ahead, including raising water rates to fund a multibillion-dollar infrastructure plan, and said the county created a water-rate assistance program called WRAP to help residents in need.
Why this matters: Johnson positioned the county’s strategy as comprehensive and interlocking — safety and infrastructure to make places more attractive for investment, housing to preserve affordability, and a customer-focused government experience to speed permitting and services. She named several cabinet members and county leaders in attendance and thanked sponsors including Amazon and Discover DeKalb for supporting the event.
Details and next steps: Johnson identified specific investments and projects that the administration says are underway or planned — including a $4.7 billion water infrastructure initiative, a digital public-safety "digital shield," purchases of county office space at 4380 Memorial Drive, and expanded rapid housing and shelter capacity. She said staff are implementing dashboards and a new Oracle planning platform to improve service delivery, and that permitting and 911 systems will receive targeted funding.
The address closed with a call for continued partnership among county, municipal and state leaders and an appeal to residents to support the administration’s long-term plans. The CEO said the county is "choosing possibility" and that attendees should expect follow-up in the form of specific project and program rollouts.
