2025 Dunwoody City Council Retreat Agenda, live streamed on Zoom. On going financial stability is the huge topic to be discussed.

The agenda for the 2025 Dunwoody City Council Retreat has been released and there are many of the same topics up for discussion as in previous years.  The big one on the table for me is financial planning, as personnel & public safety costs have increased greater than our current revenue streams in order to provide the same level of service.  I'm not going to say everything else on the two day agenda is fluff but without wrapping our hands around the financial stability of the city, other services will need to be re-evaluated. 

I just published a recap of the 2024 Retreat including all documents therefore I highly recommend you review those to become become familiar with city issues we are facing.  I have also been raising concerns regarding financial stability for years and will post a few items below.

• Dunwoody Councilman John Heneghan answers "re-election" questions by Dunwoody Reporter / Rough Draft Atlanta
  
  
• Dunwoody City Council Meeting Video - 2024 Budget & Beyond Conversation

Large investments in police services & EMS has happened in 2024 and by 2026 some of the Federal Funds we received for covid will not be there to fund these services.  I am of the opinion that cutting the police budget will not happen and in fact will only rise as payroll raises are also due.  The city is enjoying the city's investment in EMS services as we are paying for an additional ambulance (over what DeKalb County provides) to lower response times; that should also stay.  

How do we pay for these huge public safety costs is the main issue, do we ask for a tax increase per a referendum as stated in our charter, find a creative way to raise taxes outside our charter as is allowed by State law or do we cut other municipal services that have grown since the start of the city?  Municipal cuts can happen but is it what the community wants?  Guessing long term, not paving our streets nor maintaining the parks we have would not be a wise move. 

A year ago, my friend and former Dunwoody City Councilman Robert Wittenstein penned an op-ed piece in Rough Draft Atlanta (Dunwoody Reporter) discussing city finances titled by the newspaper "The city of Dunwoody is headed for a slow-motion train wreck" and we are still a year later moving down those tracks today with no decision on how to correct course.

The huge unknown in our 2026 budget planning is our rebidding of municipal contracts as in 2020 we got a pretty good deal on a five year contract and it is now time to renegotiate. (For historical perspective I have included some links down below.)

The 2025 retreat agenda is below and I am very happy to see that it will be live streamed via ZOOM and hopefully pushed to Facebook at the same time?  The recording should also be saved so that residents can watch later at a time that suits them?  Please note there are no attachments available to the Wednesday & Thursday agenda announcements on the city site and on top of that please note that there are different Zoom links for each day. 

The meeting open to the public, please feel free to join us in person.

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL
2025 STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT
Day One
Wednesday - MARCH 12, 2025 - 9:30 AM
GLEN-ELLA SPRINGS INN & RESTAURANT
1789 BEAR GAP ROAD
CLARKESVILLE, GA 30523

https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/84486061059

Phone one-tap: +14703812552,,84486061059# 

CALL TO ORDER
9:30 am – 10:00 am - INTRODUCTION

• Set Ground Rules and Goals With Facilitator

10:00 am – 11:30 am - REVIEWING DUNWOODY

• Recapping 2024 Retreat Direction and Deliverables
• Council SWOT Analysis/Setting 2025 Retreat Direction
• Additional Topics/Discussion

11:30 am – 12:00 pm – POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm – LUNCH

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm - BUILDING DUNWOODY

• Streetlights
• Mt. Vernon/Ashford Dunwoody Corridors
• Concrete and Steel in Construction
• Federal Funding Update
• Additional Topics/Discussion

3:15 pm – 5:00 pm - ELEVATING DUNWOODY - WHAT DO WE NEED TO STAY RELEVANT?

• Defining Downtown Dunwoody (What, Where, Why)
• Additional Topics/Discussion

EXECUTIVE SESSION
ADJOURN

Day Two Agenda

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL
2025 STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT
Day Two
Thursday - MARCH 13, 2025 - 8:00 AM
GLEN-ELLA SPRINGS INN & RESTAURANT
1789 BEAR GAP ROAD
CLARKESVILLE, GA 30523

https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/88127860771

Phone one-tap: +14703812552,,88127860771#

8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. - BREAKFAST

8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - RECAP DAY ONE, QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - INVESTING DUNWOODY

• Public Investments to Improve Commercial Areas
• Veterans Memorial - Funding
• Homecoming/Wildcat Parks
• Peachtree Middle School Turf
• Additional Topics/Discussion

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - PROTECTING DUNWOODY

• Drones/Flock
• EMS Service
• Staffing/Technology
• Speed Limits
• Additional Topics/Discussion

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. - LUNCH

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - OPERATING DUNWOODY

• Boards and Commissions
• Municipal Service Rebidding
• City Needs
• Additional Topics/Discussion

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm – List of Deliverables/Prioritization/Recap of Retreat
Wrap Up – Anything Missing?

EXECUTIVE SESSION

ADJOURN

____________

Documents related to City Services outside Police

Rebidding of Municipal Contracts - City Manager Analysis

Approval of Municipal Contract for Parks and Public Works - Lowe

Approval of Municipal Contract for Information Technology - Interdev

Approval of Municipal Contract for Finance and Administration - CH2M Hill / Jacobs

Approval of Municipal Contract for Community Development - The Collaborative Inc.

AMR Additional Ambulance Service - May 2023

Councilman John Heneghan's Recap of the 2024 Dunwoody City Council Retreat to provide context for the 2025 Retreat

It has been a year since the last City Council Retreat and once again it appears that we are going to discuss many of the same topics in 2025 that we discussed in 2024.  Last year I wrote a quick recap of our meeting and attached many of the documents that were provided to Council as there are rarely read head documents prior to actual retreat meetings.  As a read ahead for the 2025 Retreat, I have republished my thoughts, verbatim, from last year as a refresher on what we discussed. 
_______________________

 March 20, 2024 - Heneghan's Dunwoody Blog

The City of Dunwoody hosted a "Retreat" for Council & Staff to sit in a room for two days to discuss our past, present & future. Financial realities were brought forward that we have a large capital reserve, but operating expenses are slowly outpacing revenue, commercial property is strong, hotels are thriving, and apartments are full with high rents; on the downside, office vacancies are currently at 25%, with most of that in several large complexes and residential taxes are locked, frozen and low. We are presently funding police expansion and ambulance service with Federal funds; we are still looking at compensation raises by year's end, and in 2026, we will be renegotiating city contracts for services that will rise in price because in 2021, we received low bids because of COVID.

Parks discussions were had regarding build-out plans for Wildcat (on Roberts) and Homecoming (on Vermack), with some council members wanting to put a bond on the November ballot. However, it was decided to maintain these parks as open fields just as they are and to install portable restrooms (better than porta potties) at each park. It was also decided that there will be no parks bond in 2024.

Everyone on Council (including me) agrees with building the trails in the Perimeter Center Business District as the PCID is matching funds and other monies are coming from our hotels. There is still disagreement on the construction of 10 to 12-foot wide paths in front of single-family homes, but the current Council (excluding me) has the will and votes to move forward on Winters Chapel and Mount Vernon.

In other park news, when the slides for park priorities failed to mention the turfing of the PCMS field with the track, I asked for an update. I was told DeKalb County School System didn't see it as a priority and was worried about equity to other schools in the district who don't have turf. As a reminder, the DCSS was bound to rebuild Austin Elementary School on its original site when the City proposed a a win / win solution to the County so that our families and children wouldn't be inconvenienced. In October 2016, we proposed a land swap for the Dunwoody Senior Baseball Fields; in order to make that happen, the City purchased the land where the ball fields sit from DCSS and executed a 25-year lease for nighttime use of the football field. The City later installed lights for night time use on the field, installed a facility storage building and would now like to turf that field in order to maximize usage. Without that turfing of the field, it is overused and almost unplayable without adequate care. The City of Dunwoody set aside 1 Million dollars in our 2024 budget with the hopes to pay for the turf installation but the required construction approval from DCSS has not been received. Unsure of all logistics, but maybe there will be some movement soon?

I have been very open regarding my concerns about the long term stability of City Finances and they will be a huge topic of conversation in the coming months because we are currently at our maximum millage rate and based on everything I am hearing, in 2026 our operating revenue will not be keeping up operating expenses. This is a separate conversation from dedicated Capital funds for stuff like parks and paving as we can not use those funds for operating costs.

Based on the intention of the city founders and charter, if taxes were to be increased over our current maximum millage limit, a referendum would be needed to remove the cap. We have operated under those constraints for the last 15 years, but financial pressures are building. We know there is possibly a technical workaround by placing the entire City into a special tax district for safety (Police, Ambulance, and maybe a supplemental charge to 911 costs over current phone taxes) to raise taxes for those services, but doing so without a resident vote is contrary to the founding plans of the City. If a referendum were to be held to raise operating funds and it were to fail, would we want to cut police services that are needed based on the growth and crime stats?

Right now, I anticipate a slowdown of some capital projects (Parks and Paths) in order to preserve high fund balances in the coming year so that we can attempt to get a good handle on finances from the spending side. These fund balances include both Capital and some Operational that we are saving for a rainy day or a golden opportunity should one arise. That being said, there are some capital projects and improvements to the police department going forward (again with one-time federal funds) because the safety our community is the primary goal of government. 

Below are the documents from the retreat provided to council for discussion.

https://www.jkheneghan.com/city/meetings/2024/03/Retreat/06%20Dunwoody%202035.pptx

https://www.jkheneghan.com/city/meetings/2024/03/Retreat/03%20Budgets%20Finances%20Millages%20Trends.pptx

 https://www.jkheneghan.com/city/meetings/2024/03/Retreat/02%20Parks.pptx

https://www.jkheneghan.com/city/meetings/2024/03/Retreat/01a%20Commercial%20Real%20Estate.pptx

https://www.jkheneghan.com/city/meetings/2024/03/Retreat/05%20Police.pptx

 https://www.jkheneghan.com/city/meetings/2024/03/Retreat/01b%20Sangster.pptx

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday March 10, 2025 (Short Agenda, City Council "Retreat" is this week in the North Georgia Mountains and the Mayor is giving a State of the City speech on the morning of the 18th).

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday March 10, 2025
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,
Unfortunately the agenda presented and published was missing this information. Guessing City Staff will republish agenda with this updated information, check this link on Monday.

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

City Manager's Report

Funding Authorization for 1421 Mockwell Court Storm Repairs 

Resolution for Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year 2024

Policy change on Green Buildings

Contract Amendment with Lowe Engineers for Stormwater Project Management

Approval of Contracts with AKA Tree Service, Beasley Tree Experts and TriScapes for Tree Trimming and Removal Services

In other news, I have been traveling for work and have had no access to City Emails for over a week but I hope to get that back on Monday.  If you have reached out to me via the City email, I hope to reply soon.  

Wednesday & Thursday of this week, I get the privledge of attending the City of Dunwoody Council "Retreat" where we sit in a room for two days discussing important items like funding / spending policy, project strategy, service delivery with contracts that need to be renewed, Police, EMS and the Turf Field at PCMS.  Not 100% on the agenda as I haven't seen it (if it was sent via email) and it is not published on line for the public either.  I was given a 'save the date' message a few months ago which showed the location of this two day public meeting (in which I am forced to burn work vacation days for), as it will be at the Glen-Ella Springs Inn & Restaurant, 1789 Bear Gap Rd, Clarkesville, GA 30523, USA.  I do not believe this meeting will be live streamed for the internet to view therefore if you would like to attend, please drive the two hours to join us.  News reporters, you may want to get a room so you can watch us make smores over the firepit in the evening and then be onsite for the early morning conversations which might be interesting (in the hopes that you aren't there yet).   I will post more info on the "retreat" as it becomes available.

I noticed on social media that the Mayor is holding a State of the City address in the coming weeks with the business community, but don't know more about it except for what I read there & here? 

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday Feb 24, 2025 - 2025 Paving Plan, Peachtree Middle School Turf Field & Budget Amendment

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday February 24, 2025
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/85998548170 or  phone +14702509358,,85998548170#

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

Action item - Approval of a Contract with Stewart Brothers for 2025 Paving Contract - including 5 year paving plan

Discussion - Contract for Construction Manager at Risk for the Brook Run Maintenance Facility and Brook Run Maintenance Facility Green Building Certification

Discussion - Peachtree Middle School Football Field Turf Conversion

Discussion - Resolution for Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year 2024

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday Feb 10, 2025 - 2025 Paving Contract presented

2025 Paving Plan

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday February 10, 2025
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/82303246254 or  phone +14703812552,,82303246254#

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

Presentation of 2024 President's Volunteer Service Awards

Presentation of Oath of Office to Officer John Rose

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

City Manager's Monthly Report

Funding Authorization for Stormwater Repairs at 4425 E Kings Point Circle

Approval of Contract Amendment No. 3 with Jacobs for Finance and Administrative Services 

Approval of MOU with US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)

Contract with Stewart Brothers for 2025 Paving Contract

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday Jan 27, 2025 (Nandina street closure, next comp plan, tall man sculpture, conversion of employees, postal inspections)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday January 27, 2025
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/85998548170 or  phone +14702509358,,85998548170#

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

Acknowledgement of GOHS/MATEN 2024 Officer of the Year Award to Sgt. Trey Nelson

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS

Direction Dunwoody Status Update - Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Ordinance

Economic Development Update - 4th Quarter 2024

Create Dunwoody Annual Update (Rosemary Watts)

Nandina Lane Pilot Project (Jonathan DiGioia) 

CONSENT AGENDA

City Hall HVAC Roof Top Unit System Replacement

Supplemental Project Agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation for the North Shallowford Road Path Project

Agreement with Georgia Power for Streetlights on Meadow Lane Road and Crown Pointe Parkway

Project Agreement with the Perimeter CID for Ashford Dunwoody Path Phase 2

Resolution Appointing Members to Serve on the Sustainability Committee

BUSINESS ITEMS (ACTION ITEMS)

Georgetown Gateway Sculpture (Michael Starling)

Resolution to Surplus Nine Vehicles

Elite Radiology Lease Agreement (J. Jay Vinicki)

Approval of Contract Amendment No. 3 with Jacobs for Finance and Administrative Services

Approval of MOU with US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)

Andrew Ziffer, new DeKalb School Board Member to hold community meeting Sunday Jan 26, 2025 7:00 pm at St. Lukes Presbyterian

 

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday January 13, 2025 (Rezoning of Lidl up for vote, four new police officers, Shallowford Path, HVAC for City Hall)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday January 13, 2025
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/82303246254 or  phone +14703812552,,82303246254#

You can access the video after the meeting on the City of Dunwoody’s YouTube page.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

Administration of Oath of Office to Sgt Austin Chadwick, Officers Sadarius Hutcherson, Edward McGorda, Trey Wanstreet

PUBLIC COMMENTS - Public Comment allows the City Council the opportunity to listen to the public (3 minutes per speaker / 30 minutes total).

Truist Lighthouse Project: Gift Presentation to Dunwoody Police Dept.'s Peer Support Group

City Manager's Monthly Report

Contract with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to Provide Funding for the Dunwoody Nature Center Wetland Improvements

American Rescue Plan Grant Remaining Funding  

SECOND READ: RZ 24-02, Request to rezone 2480, 2526 Mount Vernon Road & 2495 Jett Ferry Road from NS (Neighborhood Shopping) to C-1 (Local Commercial)

Supplemental Project Agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation for the North Shallowford Road Path Project

HVAC Replacement for Dunwoody City Hall

Agreement with Georgia Power for Streetlights on Meadow Lane Road and Crown Pointe Parkway