Dunwoody is still part of the County and today was a good day for All the Citizens of DeKalb County

DeKalb County CEO
Burrell Ellis

Today was Inauguration Day in DeKalb County with 41 DeKalb County elected officials being sworn in to their respective posts. Some were being sworn in for the first time and for others, this day as happened previously many times. As far as I am concerned, no matter how many times it has occurred each time is significant and a very special privilege that should not be taken lightly.

Burrell Ellis took over the reins of DeKalb County CEO and is looking to unify the County which has been divided by the divisive politics of the past. Mr. Ellis held a Unity Inauguration so that all the elected officials of DeKalb could be sworn in as a group, not as politicians but as public servants who serve for the greater good of others. Burrell reached out to every elected official within DeKalb County, including the Dunwoody City Council to join him in an Inaugural Breakfast for Elected Officials. Mayor Ken Wright and all six of the Dunwoody City Council members arrived en mass to congratulate Burrell and enjoy the company of our fellow elected officials.

Later in the evening, I returned to the Official Decatur Inaugural Reception in order to meet up with a few people who I knew who were going to be in attendance and missed out on the morning event. It was a great day in DeKalb County and I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I proudly wore this shiny new name badge that told the world that I was a Member of the Dunwoody City Council.

I talked to…

Keith Barker, Burrell’s Executive Assistant about our future negotiations of the parks and property transfers and we both expressed a mutual desire to come to an amenable decision on the transfer of properties between the County and the City.

Fran Millar on the upcoming legislative session and that he will be hosting a Legislative Forum at Dunwoody United Methodist Church on Sunday.

Doraville Council Members, Donna Pittman & Bob Roach on the Doraville Annexation and a possible revote.

DeKalb School Board Member Jim Redovian on the need for the county and the board to align on future development within the county. Jim in our discussion was unaware of the DeKalb County School Watch blog and I informed him that it was must read for himself and the other members of the school board (not to mention all parents and taxpayers).

School Board Member Pam Speaks about the expectations of being a first time elected official.

Yvonne Williams of the Perimeter Community Improvement District about transportation funding which lead to an invitation for me to meet GA DOT Commissioner Gena Evans later this month.

Representative Mike Jacobs on the fact that he should blog more now that his political season was about to get under way.

DeKalb Commissioner Jeff Rader regarding future negotiations over the parks in Dunwoody and the need for all citizens of DeKalb to be able to use the facilities in Dunwoody.

Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd on the benefits and pitfalls of political blogging as a politician.

Decatur City Commissioner Fred Boykin on their cities volunteer coordinator which coordinates 1000’s of hours of volunteer assistance to various non-profit and city related projects.

Dunwoody Nature Center Executive Director, Claire Hayes; Decatur Parks Director Dan Magee and Deputy Director of DeKalb County Parks, Marvin Billups about the opportunities and challenges of Dunwoody someday running its own park system.

Sheriff Tom Brown on future interactions between the Dunwoody PD and the Jail.

Monsignor Donald Kiernan from All Saints Catholic Church where I attend on a regular basis.

Besides those little tidbits of conversation, you should know that Dunwoody was well represented at CEO Burrell Ellis’s Inauguration and in turn CEO Ellis represented the County with Class and Distinction. I look forward to working with him and his administration.

Well said Mayor Floyd, it's time to move forward.

Mayor Bill Floyd

Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd has a blog and a willingness to move forward from the current administration in DeKalb. As he says, January can't get here soon enough.

Welcome to our new CEO

Congratulations to Commissioner Burrell Ellis on his victory in Tuesday’s election. I was an active supporter of Commissioner Ellis and believe that he will do an outstanding job as CEO. We had some great candidates this year but I think we, as voters, selected the best for Dekalb. It will certainly be a different type of governing than we have been accustomed to over the last few years. If we are to move this county forward, our focus must be on cooperation and not conflict. Our tax money should be spent on things that improve our quality of life and not on law suits. Since the HOST lawsuit began in 1999 the city has spent over $700,000 of taxpayer money on that particular lawsuit. Someone should ask Dekalb Countyhow much they have spent. I would be willing to wager it has be 4 to 5 times that amount and that is my tax money also. For the past eight years, we as residents of Dekalb have found it difficult to have a meaningful conversation with our top elected official. While we will probably not be able to agree on every issue that comes up, we can agree to talk and we can agree on one thing: we all want a better Dekalb. Dekalb County is a great place to live and work, not in spite of our cities, but because of our cities. Welcome to our new CEO; January can’t get here soon enough. Let’s talk!

If Floyd & Ellis get together to talk, I hope that Ken Wright has the option to join them.

Mayor Bill Floyd of Decatur starts blog by offering support for the City of Dunwoody.

http://billfloyddecatur.com

Welcome Mayor Floyd to the blogosphere and we appreciate your support on Dunwoody's quest for self determination.

Since the people in Dunwoody first began to discuss the possibility of becoming a city, I have been supportive of that effort and their right to decide their fate. That applies to them and those in other areas of the county, or the state for that matter, that wish to consider being a city. Those who will be within the city limits of the new city will now get a chance to consider the pros and cons, and vote in July. If it passes, they will elect a mayor and council in September and become a city a few months later. The county should embrace this change rather than oppose it. The closer your elected officials are to you the more access you have to them and the more impact your opinion will have on any decision they make. The people in Dunwoody are in for a treat if they pass the referendum. They will experience the joy of being part of a city and the feeling of belonging. Strong cities in Dekalb will make for a stronger and better county. While those elected officials in the county will experience some loss of political power and control and influence, it will pale in comparison to the benefit they will get from having a strong, effective and efficient city of Dunwoody. I wish them the best and offer my support and help.