DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
January 9, 2023 - 6:00 PM
DUNWOODY CITY HALL - DUNWOODY HALL
4800 ASHFORD DUNWOODY ROAD
DUNWOODY, GA 30338
Agenda 6 pm - City Site Agenda
City Council meetings are live-streamed on the City of Dunwoody’s Facebook page.
They are also available for viewing (no two way communication) on Zoom,
https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/83571238287 or phone +14702509358,,83571238287#
You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.
Administration of Oath of Office to Officer Mario Umana
Public comments - in person 3 min each / 30 min max with additional at end of meeting if needed.
Final Recap of 2022 Retreat and City Council Goals and Actions
Approval of December 13, 2022 City Council Special Called Meeting Minutes - Meeting with State / DeKalb Legislative Representatives
FIRST READ: Consideration of Text Amendments to Chapter 20, Signs
Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Village Crossroads Project Traffic and Overhead Utility Discussion
Contract for 2023 Pavement Resurfacing
Expiring MARTA Bus Shelter Contracts
Happy New Year and I hope everyone's holiday season was joyous spending time with those you love, staying warm and dry as the days are now getting longer. This meeting starting at 6 pm looks short because many of us (and staff) may have other plans for later that evening but that doesn't mean important things aren't being done. First we are adding another police officer to our ranks and we are getting closer to being fully staffed, welcome Officer Umana.
Read the retreat document, look at what we accomplished in 2022 but also note what we have put off or kicked down the road. In 2022 we put off a call for a General Obligation Bond for Capital Projects and a Special Tax District for Parks & Police for operational expenses. I believe both may be back on the agenda in the coming months, to be possibly be added to the ballot in November of 2023?
Immediately below I am re-posting document links from the May 23, 2022 meeting where city finances and possible bonds were discussed.
City of Dunwoody Millage and Bond Rate Discussion and comparable rates in DeKalb the possible list of projects - Bond FAQ - Steps to Bond Referendum
Remember how just a few months ago I said our 2023 budget looked like an ugly baby? We need to determine the capital desires of the community and the correlating operational expenses (more parks/more maintenance expenses) vs (fully staffed Police Department at appropriate salary / benefit level is an expense we can not compromise on) with inflationary pressures on a tax digest that has limited escalating raises. Because Dunwoody was one of the first cities to break away from a County to incorporate, we were given very tight financial constraints that other newer cities do not have. 14 years after incorporation we have rising inflation, rising costs but also have a home valuation freeze, a 1 mil tax reduction that was a replacement for a credit that was given back, but the reduction stuck, and we are now at our maximum ad valorem tax rate on real property of 3.04 which by my reading of the Charter would need the approval of the Citizens to increase that general tax rate. Tough decisions & discussions on finance are coming.
All of these conversations will be taking place in the future as I am always concerned of the viability of our many office towers as leases come up for renewal and the pressures to have employees work from home seems to grow. A vibrant office district in Perimeter Center is what we all desire as it is an economic engine that also fills the restaurants, the stores, raises demands on housing and also adds to the tax base which lowers the burden on the residents who live here. We need a vibrant mix and the Mayor and City Council have been working on that goal since day one of incorporation.
Please read the City Managers Report as it is eye-opening in many ways, the City does so much behind the scenes and I have nothing but admiration for the staff and police officers who make this City function everyday. You may have heard about the shooting between two knuckleheads at the mall, I don't know more than anyone else, but I do know Dunwoody PD showed up in force, handled the situation and brought the person responsible into custody. Please be aware of your surroundings but don't let knuckleheads make you fearful of living your life, Perimeter Mall and Dunwoody is still a safe place to be.
City Council had a special called meeting on a day I was out of town to talk to our State Legislators, I'm sorry I missed as the minutes tell me topics but not specifics. If I'm lucky I hope to attend a few DeKalb Delegation meetings down at the Capital as I think they take place on Mondays at Noon and I can't think of a more entertaining lunch.
Monday is a first read (just discussion / not approval) of an update to our Sign Ordinance which looks like minor tweaks and administrative fixes. I have a couple of days to read & evaluate the proposed changes, if there are issues with the proposed changes please let me (us) know as I value your input.
There is a discussion scheduled to talk about the pedestrian improvements in Dunwoody Village as I (and a few others) pushed back on the proposed design as there is a lot of money being planned to be spent whereby there wouldn't any vehicle throughput improvements through the intersections of Chamblee Dunwoody & Mt. Vernon. Staff has looked at modifying the proposal and did not find a way to improve traffic flow with out negatively impacting (obtaining) business properties. Staff also received an 8 million dollar estimate to bury electrical lines as part of the project and at the moment we do not have the funds for that idea to move forward. It looks like the original plans without any traffic improvements, is back on the table.
The proposed improvements presented in March 2022 consist of a cycle track and wider sidewalks on both sides of Chamblee Dunwoody Road from Womack Road to Roberts Drive. The cycle track will be separated from the vehicle travel lanes and raised to the level of the sidewalk. A landscape buffer with street trees and lighting will separate the cycle track from the sidewalk. In areas, such as in front of the farmhouse, where the public right of way is not as wide, the buffer width will be reduced and landscaped without street trees. The proposed design for the roadway generally maintains the lane configurations as they currently exist with the exception of removing one of the southbound through-lanes south of Mount Vernon Road. In areas north of Mount Vernon Road where a center turn lane is not needed, the turn lane would be converted to a landscaped median with the goal of adding greenery, calming traffic and creating safer pedestrian crossings.
The 2023 paving plan is moving forward (as the streets have been planned and scheduled for repaving in a past 3 - 5 year plan) and we are spending close to 3 million dollars to pave 15 lane miles of streets. Looking at the map, we are doing well to pave the worst first and it won't be long before every public street in Dunwoody would have been paved.
Finally we have a contract to consider on MARTA Bus Shelter advertising. I like shelters where needed, I dislike the advertising & signage that is sometimes not appropriate for single family neighborhoods & near schools. Would you believe that I raised this very topic ten years ago, argued that we were not under contract with MARTA nor the Advertising company, converted several signed shelters to non-signed; while agreeing to allow a few advertising shelters in place in commercial zones where appropriate. We now have all contracts prior in place expiring and they are up for renegotiation. What should we do?
4 comments:
Good Morning John,
Interesting items and notes on same. I tend to be supportive of the parks though I am not much of a user of them. When I do visit one, it usually has folks in it who are enjoying it in various ways.
While I tend to be supportive of pedestrian and cyclist improvements, we do need to keep in mind that automobile traffic is likely to continue being the primary mode of transit and improvements to throughput should be considered in any improvement such as Chamblee Dunwoody Road.
On the bus stop advertising. I've complained about that ever since the ads were first posted, blocking visibility in particular at the intersection I use most often, Ashford Dunwoody and Valley View Roads. Were it not for the ad, I could see through the glass from a safe position when the light is red... sadly also when it is green as folks running red lights has become trendy the past few years. I asked about this to the relevant city employee when they first popped up and was curtly informed there is a traffic light at the intersection. Sadly for me, I was using a motorcycle at the time and it did not always register to the sensory apparatus to let the signal management know someone was waiting. I'm back in a car now and the apparatus has improved, but it remains a nuisance to have to wait for the light when a right hand turn on red after a full stop is legal. It remains dangerous if one has to push their front end into the intersection to see if there is oncoming traffic. I don't know how much revenue is derived from those ads, but it better be a pretty penny to justify what I see as a nuisance and danger. Sorry to rant, but it has bothered me for all the years it has been in place. I'm often floored when I consider I've lived in this house for nearly 24 years now.
Hi John,
I was chatting with a group of neighbors who asked me about their property taxes and why they have increased so much and if the City was still leaning toward Bond issuance. The topic turned toward income after discussing increased expenses.
The groupthink, which may be flawed, denied the idea that our property tax freeze materially contributes to an income issue. The idea is that since we have incorporated homes have been bought and sold (turned over) from their original owners. In other words the new sales have upped property values across the board, the majority of homes reflect a new (higher) value.
I have heard City officials, and now our elected reps, repeating the mantra that the property tax freeze (A major inducement to vote for Cityhood) is a material contributing factor to limiting income.
Turnover is an easy number to quantify.
Homes sold divided by total number of homes available.
I think City Council should ask Staff to research this.
Thank you for your work on our behalf,
Max
PART ONE
So this happened!
The Dean of Transparency, John Heneghan asked me to post these interactions.
I copied the entire City Council on the post above and got an almost immediate response from our Mayor. Mayor Deutsch's reply, with permission, and my response appear below in their unedited entirety, as quoted. I really love living in Dunwoody!!!
From the Desk of the Mayor:
"Good morning.
Unless I am misunderstanding your email, city taxes have increased very little for each individual homeowner. Individuals’ property tax bills have increased because of the school system. As a reminder, property values are frozen for county and city taxes only. They are not frozen for the school system.
I believe a council member has done some research into turnover. I hope they will share what they have found. On my street, there are about 20 homes. As of the beginning of 2022, at least 14 of the homes have had the same owner for 10+ years.
However, the county is not doing a great job of issuing a new assessment with property sales even with sales prices.
When you get your property tax bill, because the value is not frozen for the school system, you will see the new assessment each year. It could be higher, lower, or the same as the previous year.
For the most part, this value is lower than what the home could actually sell for. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but in my experience, this is almost always true. While I have not done a deep dig, I believe in many cases values are much less than the selling price of the house, and the county is not basing new assessments on current sales price. This has been going on for decades.
One last thing, it is pretty common to hear people say my house is assessed at X, and it would never sell for that when in reality it would. Certainly, there are exceptions, and people can successfully appeal, but especially in the last few years, which is admittedly not a normal market, people have paid prices for houses that are far from perfect that are similar to the prices in 2017 to 2019 for only the most perfect houses. It will be interesting to see the direction of the residential housing market goes.
Please ask anyone with questions to reach out. I’ll be glad to arrange a meeting to discuss this issue further with your group if you would like. I can bring city staff too.
Have a great day.
Lynn"
PART TWO
My response:
"Good morning Lynn,
Thank you for your response to my inquiry - One of many Dunwoody Advantages is how quickly our elected officials can and do respond to citizen questions and concerns. Thank you! My overriding point is the property tax freeze should remain a part of the Dunwoody Advantage.
My note did not imply City taxes rose, but was unclear that school tax increases are the main reason behind higher property values - I regret the confusion. Our group understood the rise in property taxes was not based on City tax increases.
The State mandated assessments should be within 10% of Fair Market Value, or at least it did when I was on the Board of Equalization, mid-90's. As you stated, that is never really the case. So homeowners get a break, though tax fund recipients probably look at this as a problem.
In your neighborhood example the turnover rate is 30% (6 sales/20 residences = .30) which means that those new sales should reflect the new price, on which City taxes are derived. As you may recall, when a property is sold the paperwork includes a tax note reflecting the sale value which is automatically sent to the County. As you stated, that is the taxable value of the home moving forward. The UCC-3 paperwork sent to the County upon a sale creates the new taxable value. (Homeowners may list a lower sale price if the transaction is not 'arm's length,' like selling to a relative, but the assessor should catch that in the new tax year.) This part of the process is very efficient, I've never heard of the tax value of a newly sold home remaining the same as the previous owner.
With all of this I am very pleased the Council is examining the turnover rate. Keep the Property Tax Freeze, please and thank you!
Discussions about a Bond are firmly rooted in ONE single fact: People now want more than the original founders envisioned. With those wants come BOTH capital and operational expenses, the latter of which we are currently paying from reserves, in part. This is not sustainable so any new capital projects must include additional revenue streams (higher taxes) to operate them. Old news, but it bears repeating.
I am pleased to see that the Council is looking at new projects in terms of their capital and operational expenses. To my thinking, Bond issuance, if any, MUST also have a corresponding City tax increase to pay for current and additional operational expenses, without sacrificing the Property Tax Freeze. Any Bond must be viewed as a tax increase and therefore deserves a vote by the public.
As you state, the residential market is in flux; however, I believe Dunwoody home values will continue to rise. Some predictions I have seen for Atlanta residences are between a 3-6% increase in value. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
Best wishes moving forward, I will certainly be happy to include you, Staff or other members in any formal meetings.
Regards,
Max
PS Lynn, just so you know paying more for getting more is not a bad thing to us. It is all in the defination of 'getting more.' Some of the recent pushback on the 12' wide trails is an example of differing opinions on what 'more' looks like."
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