Dunwoody’s proposed 2023 Budget released for public and Council review

The proposed budget prioritizes public safety and allocates American Rescue Plan funding to continue supporting the Dunwoody community.

 Press Release    &    2023 Budget Download

Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch and City Manager Eric Linton transmitted the proposed 2023 Budget for the City of Dunwoody to the full Council today, as required by the City’s Charter. The proposed General Fund Budget of $30.2 million for 2023 is close to a million dollars less than the current year’s budget. The all-funds budget, which includes SPLOST, is down by $9 million in 2023 compared to 2022.

“We continue to operate under uncertainty created by the lingering impact of the pandemic,” said Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch. “This budget prioritizes publicsafety by keeping our compensation competitive, providing best-in-areabenefits, and allowing for equipment updates and improvements. We also continue to allocate American Rescue Plan dollars to help our community, our residents, and our businesses.”

The proposed budget includes a 4% pay increase for all public safety and city staff effective on the first pay period of the year. In addition, $2.75 million of SPLOST funding is dedicated to roadresurfacing to keep the 20-year plan on track. The plan calls for the repavingof all public roads in Dunwoody in the City’s first 20 years, prioritizing those with the greatest maintenance needs.

Dunwoody began allocating $18.4 million of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding in 2022. The 2023 budget includes ARP funding for nonprofits that assist residents in need, entrepreneurial support and cybersecurity, among other economic recovery needs.

The City enters 2023 with the lowest aggregate tax rate compared to all cities in DeKalb County and unincorporated DeKalb, even with this year’s millage rate increase to the cap created by the City’s founders. The aggregate rate compares county taxes, plus city taxes, plus school taxes. In June 2022, the DunwoodyCity Council increased the General Fund millage rate to 3.040 mills. This increase provides for additional police pay increases, which total 24.8% over the past three years for most officers. With residential assessed values frozen and a one-mill reduction given to all homesteaded properties, revenue growth has been limited to cover compensation issues.

“We are committed to transparency as it relates to the city’s finances,” added Mayor Deutsch. “Over the past year, we’ve invited Dunwoody residents to engage in a series of conversations. Staff, Council, and I have shared information about the City’s budget and provided an opportunity for residents to ask questions and provide feedback. We will continue these discussions into 2023, focusing on revenue, city services, and capital needs. “

The City’s Budget Committee will hold meetings on Wednesday, September 7 at noon and Thursday, September 8 at 9 a.m. to review the proposed 2023 Budget. The Budget Committee is comprised of Councilmembers Stacey Harris, Joe Seconder and Tom Lambert. The meetings will take place at City Hall, located at 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road. City Council must adopt the budget before the end of November 2022, allowing for two full months of public input and comment. The budget can be found on the City of Dunwoody website under the Finance Department tab and using this link.

City of Dunwoody provides regular updates on paving process for 2022

Map Link

Current Projects

Update - 8/31/22 - The contractor resumed paving earlier this month and is nearing completion of the streets in the Dunwoody Club Forest West subdivision. Completion of Withmere Way, Barcroft Way, Summerset Drive and a section of Mt. Vernon Way  is expected this week. Next, the contractor plans to move to the streets designated for repaving off Chamblee Dunwoody Road and begin work in Heathwood and North Springs subdivisions. Weather permitting, work will begin on Kings Down Circle on September 1. 

 Update - 8/11/2022 - Street paving will begin the week of August 15 for Dunwody Club Forest West subdivision and will complete work on Withmere Way, Bancroft Way, Summerset Drive and a section of Mt. Vernon Way.

Update - 7/8/2022 - The contractor for the 2022 Street Paving Project has completed paving activities for Biddle Ct, Brompton Ct, Kimblewick Cove, Meadowcreek Ct and Trotters Cove. Crews return later this summer to the Dunwoody Club Forest West subdivision to complete work planned for Withmere Way, Barcroft Way, Summerset Dr and a section of Mt. Vernon Way. When this work is completed, the contractor will move to perform work planned for streets off Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. Work is currently underway for adjusting manholes on recently paved streets and will continue through the summer.

Update - 6/29/2022 - The contractor will complete the resurfacing of streets in the Braddock, Beaver Brook and Mill Glen subdivision this week.  Streets in this group include Bend Creek Dr, Braddock, Bend Creek Ct and Bend Creek Way.  On June 30, the crews will move to streets off of Mt Vernon Way, to complete planned paving activities for Biddle Ct, Brompton Ct, Kimblewick Cv, Meadowcreek Ct and Trotters Cv.  The crews do not have work activities planned for July 4^th.

Update - 6/21/2022 - The contractor will wrap up paving activities on streets in the Withmere and Dunwoody Heights subdivisions on Tuesday, June 22. The contractor will then move to the next group of roads on Thursday, June 23.  Work in the Mill Glen, Braddock, and Beaver Brook subdivisions will include the resurfacing of Bend Creek Road and Braddock Court. Paving activities in this area should wrap up by July 1.

Update - 6/16/2022 - The contractor continues work activities on streets in the Withmere and Dunwoody Heights subdivision area.  Most recent work includes the completion of the paving on Martina Way and Bunky Ln, while the majority of the preparation work of milling and patching has been completed on Bunky Way, Withmere Ln, Martina Dr and Witham Dr.  With favorable weather, the resurfacing  is anticipated to be completed before the July 4^th Holiday. 

Update - 6/6/2022 - The contractor has completed the resurfacing of Manning Farms Court and Dunbrooke Lane.  The crews are now performing work on streets in the Withmere and Dunwoody Heights subdivision area. 

The City has contracted with Blount Construction to complete the 2022 street resurfacing plan. For an expanded look at the paving and infrastructure upgrades planned for 2022, please use the links below.

• Paving Plan 2022 - Map & Streets List
• Past and Future Paving (through 2023)

Pavement Evaluation

Every 4 to 5 years, Public Works completes a pavement evaluation and condition assessment of all of the public streets within the city. The assessment consists of surveys of each roadway segment to measure roughness, rut depth and crack condition. The assessment provides an objective method to prioritize streets for future repaving.

The data collected on roughness, rut depth, and cracks is used to score each roadway segment with a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) ranging from 10 to 100. The average PCI rating for Dunwoody roads is a 70. Individual roadway segment scores range from 35 to 95.

Compared to the 2009 assessment, the city’s investments in repaving have resulted in significant improvement in the condition of its main thoroughfares with the percentage in good to excellent condition increasing from 45% to 60%. Overall, roughly one-third of city streets are in good to excellent condition, roughly one-third in poor to very poor condition, and roughly one-third are in fair condition.

• Pavement Assessment Report
• Appendix A: Street Inventory and Condition Summary
• Street Ratings by Neighborhood

Dunwoody's Maxine Spencer completed the "Crochet for the Kids" Girl Scouts Gold Award Project and is on her way to receiving highest honor.

Maxine Spencer is a senior at Dunwoody High School, and has been a Girl Scout since Troop 13590 formed when she was in the 2nd grade at Chesnut Elementary. She is now in the process of submitting her final paperwork to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. She chose a project that involved helping children since this is important to her as a babysitter, lifeguard, and swim coach. She learned to crochet stuffed animals in 2020, and then researched ways to craft a project that would utilize her crochet skills and ultimately benefit children. Maxine then created patterns for two different stuffed animals: an octopus and a frog, and started recruiting crochet helpers through Facebook groups and local connections.

Maxine partnered with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) on the project, and she fund raised for the materials that would be used by her volunteer Dunwoody and Chamblee crochet team. Maxine sold crocheted hats, got donated items from her troop, and did some babysitting to earn the money for the crochet materials. Once she raised the funds to launch the project, Maxine then created patterns for two different stuffed animals. Next, she created kits with yarn, stuffing, and the printed patterns which she provided to each volunteer crochet team member.  In late July of 2022, Maxine, along with her team of Dunwoody and Chamblee crocheters, donated over 40 crocheted stuffed animals to CHOA. The stuffed animals can be given as comfort items to patients receiving care at CHOA.

Maxine is very grateful to all of the volunteers who supported her project, and is honored that her patterns and instructions are now included in the CHOA Volunteer toolkit so that local crocheters have the opportunity to support her project for years to come. If you would like to get additional information on crocheting for the "Crochet for the Kids" project, please reach out to the CHOA Donations coordinator, Julia Ward via Julia.ward@choa.org or email cforthekids@gmail.com.

Spruill Center for the Arts in Dunwoody is offering Arts for Alzheimer’s, a pilot art education program at no cost.

The Spruill Center for the Arts is pleased to begin Arts for Alzheimer’s, a pilot art education program aimed at increasing the well-being of individuals living with memory loss and their care partners through engagement in the arts. The program is being offered this fall at no charge to participants and is now open for registration via Spruill’s website.

Each month, teaching artist Amanda Williams will guide participants through an examination of a prominent artist and their works.   Individuals and their care partners will explore a variety of mediums designed to engage and connect them to the monthly class theme and they will create a work of art inspired by that month’s featured artist. In this pilot program, those artists include: Henry Ossawa Tanner, Henri Mattise, Hanna Hoch and Claes Oldenburg.

An estimated 6.5 million Americans age 65 and older have some form of dementia.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 3000 studies show that the arts play a significant role in promoting health and wellness.  The Alzheimer’s Association endorses the arts as a way to enrich the lives of people with the Alzheimer’s disease by allowing for self-expression and engagement which elevates mood, self-esteem and social interaction.

“This first pilot program is part of a larger series of community-based engagements that Spruill intends to bring forward in the coming year,” said Alan Mothner, Spruill CEO. “With no other current type of programming of a similar nature being offered in the Perimeter area, we felt it important to be able to extend the healing power of the arts to our senior community and others suffering from memory loss. We hope to expand the program even further in 2023 to fulfill the needs of the community.”

Amanda Williams will oversee an exploration of art history and artistic media in this four-part course offered monthly from September through December. Williams has spent more than 15 years working with individuals who have memory loss and their care partners, most recently helping to establish a program at the High Museum of Art in partnership with the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Arts for Alzheimer’s begins September 14 and will be held every 2nd Wednesday through December 14.  Registration is available at spruillarts.org/classes

 https://registration.spruillarts.org/wconnect/ace/CourseStatus.awp?&course=224AFA100