FW: November 12, 2012 Cityhood Meeting Report
Jim Durrett
A report regarding the cityhood meeting Charles mentioned…
- Jim
Jim Durrett
Executive Director
Buckhead Community Improvement District
3340 Peachtree Road, NE
100 Tower Place, Suite 1640
Atlanta, GA 30326
404.842.2683 (office)
404.512.6580 (mobile)
-----Original Message-----
From: Briarcliff Woods Civic Association
Sent: Nov 13, 2012 10:27 PM
To: Jim & Pat
Subject: November 12, 2012 Cityhood Meeting Report
Our email address is briarcl...@gmail.com (mailto:briarcl...@gmail.com) .
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*BWCA "Cityhood" Meeting Report
-Summary of Cityhood Meeting 11/12/12
Update on Cityhood Informational Session
On Monday, Nov. 12^th, BWCA President Chuck Williams and Vice-President Jonathan Wells attended a cityhood informational session hosted by the Briarcliff Woods East Neighborhood Association. Speakers included 3 current or former state legislators who had been involved in the creation of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs (either as legislators or as residents during incorporation).
Some things to note:
* Other than the “City of DeKalb” state legislative study committee, we are not aware of any active plans by any neighborhood groups in North DeKalb to form a new city. We also learned that it is very unlikely that a City of DeKalb would go beyond the study committee phase any time soon because of the current political climate with the state legislature controlled by Republicans and the DeKalb County elected bodies controlled by Democrats.
* The creation of any city in Georgia is a long and arduous process. With the state legislative process alone taking 2 years, any groups wanting to form a city anywhere in the State are usually looking at a 4 to 5 year process. This process includes: (1) formation of a non-profit group, (2) fundraising of approximately $25,000-$30,000 to pay for a “feasibility study” to demonstrate that a new city is economically viable, (3) drafting a city charter (the document that governs what the proposed city can and cannot do), (4) lobbying legislators to get the charter passed in the state legislature, (5) having a vote by residents in the proposed city, (6) undertaking the work to actually form a city government that provides all the services a city must provide.
* The formation of a new city is primarily about providing more local control over traditional city services like police and fire, parks, zoning, garbage, and road maintenance. Generally, it is not about reducing your taxes. What has happened (in DeKalb) is that 85-90% of a resident’s tax bill in a new city still goes to the County and a few line items from the bill get transferred to the new city to pay for the services that the new city is providing (and that the County no longer provides within the new city’s limits). The rest of the new city’s revenues come from business licenses, hotel taxes, ad valorem taxes, utility franchise fees, and a portion of the HOST (the 1 cent sales tax used to fund portions of your homestead exemption). It is for this reason that any area considering incorporation must get a good balance between residential properties and vibrant commercial/industrial properties.
* The formation of a new city does not mean that a separate school system is formed. There are many new cities (Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, etc.) and old cities (Avondale Estates) who continue as a part of the county-wide school system.
Because there was a sense that all of the official speakers at this session were generally “pro-city,’’ there will likely be another information session in the near future where proponents and opponents of cityhood can present both sides at the same meeting.
To be clear, neither the officers nor the Board has taken any sort of formal or informal position on these issues, but because these types of discussions could affect our neighborhood either directly or indirectly, we will continue to monitor these developments as they occur. As always, for more information or questions, please contact us at briarcl...@gmail.com (mailto:briarcl...@gmail.com) .
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