Senator Dan Weber & Community Leaders outline key factors concerning the City of Dunwoody

Senator Dan Weber

You currently pay 43 mils in county and school property taxes. DeKalb uses 2.0 mils (5%) to provide “city” services, i.e., zoning, roads, police, parks, and code enforcement.

The new city will take over these services. You will then pay the 2.0 mils to the city instead of the county. The city will also take over other revenues such as business licenses, hotel tax, and alcohol tax. Sales tax from the mall will still go to the county.

The city will have the same healthy blend of commercial and residential property as the county as a whole.

Carl Vinson Institute

The most knowledgeable and objective group in Georgia concerning new cities is the Carl Vinson Institute at UGA (“CVI”). They did the studies for Sandy Springs, Milton, and Johns Creek at a cost of over $150,000. Building off this knowledge base, CVI did a 132 page study for Dunwoody in 2006. It showed that Dunwoody would have enough revenue to provide services similar to other cities its size without a tax increase. In 2007, CVI studied whether Dunwoody would be feasible if it hired a private contractor to provide most city services, similar to what Sandy Springs, Milton, and John Creek are doing. The study showed that the city is feasible with about a $700,000 surplus.

Government Closer to the People is Better

Each county commissioner represents over 150,000 people. No county commissioner lives within even 10 miles of any part of Dunwoody. With 6 city council members and a mayor, all from Dunwoody, our ability to access and influence our government will be greatly enhanced. They will be more responsive because they will live in Dunwoody, care about Dunwoody, and better understand the needs of the community. You will likely see council members at your pool, school, or place of worship. When was the last time you saw a county commissioner at any of these places?

Control of Taxes

It will be better for the city council to control taxes for city services. First, the city charter freezes the assessed value of your home (no back door tax increases). Second, the charter prevents the city council from raising the millage rate for property taxes by more than 1 mil. A 1 mil increase is less than $14 per month on a $400,000 home. If the city needs more revenue from property taxes, you will have to first give your approval in a referendum. All existing
exemptions are included in the charter. Third, if you were to vote to increase taxes in the future to fund higher service levels, you would do so knowing that 100% of the revenues would stay in
Dunwoody. This is a huge benefit.

Zoning

The County encourages development to increase tax revenues. Developers want to maximize density in order to maximize profits. That is why there has been an explosion of apartments with the number now approaching 9,000. Almost 40% of the residents of Dunwoody now live in rental units. Residents are left to deal with the congestion on the roads and the overcrowding of the schools. A city council, which will be made up of your neighbors, will naturally give much greater weight to your concerns in making zoning decisions.

Roads

The roads across DeKalb (including Dunwoody) are in poor shape. Dunwoody pays $3.5 million per year for roads, but it is apparent from the lack of road work in Dunwoody that the money is not returned. The suggested budget dedicates $3.5 million to road maintenance and improvements. If you ever vote to pay more taxes for roads, you will know that all the money will stay in Dunwoody.

Police

Dunwoody pays DeKalb about $13 million a year for police services. It receives only 0 to 3 patrols at any given time. The suggested budget dedicates $2.8 million to police, which is enough for 4 patrols 24/7 - dedicated only to Dunwoody. Response times in Dunwoody are often more than 30 minutes. With 4 patrols in Dunwoody response times will be dramatically improved.
Experts say that DeKalb’s policing level is woefully inadequate. They will also tell you that 4 patrols for the new city will be inadequate, but the key point is that it will be substantially more than what the county currently provides. And, if you ever want to vote to pay for more police, you will know that 100% of your taxes will stay in Dunwoody. The suggested budget includes 4 patrols (28 officers) because, after many hours of debate, the citizen volunteers compromised, believing that a substantial increase over current levels would be a good place to start. Ultimately, the city council may choose to provide more.

Parks

Dunwoody pays DeKalb $2.4 million for parks operations. The only parks program operated by the County in Dunwoody is the skate park, which is suffering losses. The suggested budget dedicates $400,000 to parks operations. Like Sandy Springs did with Fulton, Dunwoody will have to negotiate the transfer of the parks to city control. Sandy Springs ended up paying $100 per acre.

Summary

Today, the county bureaucracy controls your tax levels. They control how much of that money is spent in Dunwoody. They decide how many police we need, how much should be spent on road repairs and how much should be spent on parks. We are such a small part of the county that our voices are rarely heard. With a City of Dunwoody you and your neighbors will decide on the right level of taxes and the level of services you want. A City of Dunwoody allows us to take control of our future.