Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday December 15, 2025 (Zaxby's, Capital projects financial closeout, Discover Dunwoody Budget, Audit Services, Chamber A/V Upgrades)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL 
Monday, December 15, 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).

City Manager's Report

Retreat Deliverables / Year in Review (J. Jay Vinicki)

Contract for Internal Audit Services 

Capital Project Closeout and Reallocate Funding

Discover Dunwoody Budget

Amendment to Municipal Contract adding Finance Person (Eric Linton)

SECOND READ: Zaxby's SLUP 25-02, 125 Perimeter Center W: Request for a Special Land Use Permit for a drive-through (Madalyn Smith)

MOU Between Park Place at Dunwoody (EDENS), LLC and Dunwoody Police Department for Shared Cameras (Chief Carlson)

Purchase for Council Chambers Audio/Visual (A/V) Upgrades (Ginger LePage)

Contract for External Audit Services

City of Dunwoody 2025 Retreat recap, tax increase possible, City Charter change discussed to allow special tax district?

The Dunwoody City Council spent two days in North Georgia with Dunwoody City Leadership discussing a handful of important topics in order for City Office Directors to get a flavor of where we as a City should be going, doing and setting priorities.  There was no member of the public in the room the first day and I am unsure how many people were able to follow along on the zoom connection for more than 6 hours and then the second day we only had Dunwoody Crier Reporter, Mr. Hayden Sumlin in the room who was able to put together a nice article linked below.  I have included all the documents provided to Council for discussion and linked a few other recaps from Councilman Rob Price, Facebook Posts and a post from The Other Dunwoody Blog which is a blog that has been around for many years giving his opinion on city decisions.

We as a Council discussed street lights missing on main corridors and how to fix this, we discussed the 12 ft path moving forward on Mt. Vernon, staff wants us to think about reducing our fire codes for residential buildings, we discussed park needs and Peachtree's Field that we are obligated to maintain, staff would like to add employee retirement benefits for medical, we discussed City Service contracts that are about to be rebid and possibly bringing more staff in house to save money?, we discussed police staffing / raises, drones and EMS Service and finally we also discussed (very limited conversation) City Charter changes to add emergency powers, judge term limits, council compensation and finally special tax districts.

The city has been aware of this operational financial issue coming toward us for years with our main source of revenue locked at the maximum tax rate, our home values locked, with salaries and service desires of the community escalating faster than revenue is growing.  

There was no real discussion of service cuts (but they could be on the table) and many of the financial constraints written into the charter (property freeze, 1 mil reduction, and possibly the maximum tax limit) would need to be removed by a referendum, therefore the easiest solution being brought forward was a special tax district for public service as a separate line item on the tax bill.   Of course the devil is in the details and at the moment there are no details available so I started asking if there was special service tax issued would the general millage rate (that now funds public safety) be reduced to a lower level and I received push back on the line of questioning.  Here is a link to a Facebook post where there is lots of good conversation on a possible tax increase.  If this special tax district for public safety is enacted what is stopping a future Council for enacting a special service district for Parks next?  The operational funding issues are real and service cuts haven't been discussed but they may be on the table soon?

Dunwoody City Council discusses tax increase at strategic planning retreat - Dunwoody Crier

Mayor Lynn Deutsch said the elephant in the room is the city’s looming shortfall in operational funding, while also pointing to the fact that Dunwoody has not spent its reserves yet. While the city has budgeted the use of reserves for the past two years, its conservative budgeting has kept it out of the red.
...
Councilman John Heneghan, elected to the inaugural City Council in 2008, said former officials told residents that any tax increase would come to a citizen vote via a referendum.

Heneghan asked if the special tax district for public safety would be a back-end property tax rate hike, or if the city’s existing millage would be reduced to even out an increase.

“I’m all in on public safety, it’s the number one reason for government,” Heneghan said. “Back in the day, we said we were going to go to the residents with anything above the tax rate that we’re currently at.”

Other elected officials pushed back on a measure reducing or evening out city revenue, saying the point of a special tax district would be to increase operational revenue.

Rob Price Recap of Retreat

Recapping 2024 Retreat Direction and Deliverables

Council SWOT Analysis/Setting 2025 Retreat Direction

Streetlights

Mt. Vernon/Ashford Dunwoody Corridors

Concrete and Steel in Construction

Federal Funding Update

Retiree Medical Plan

Public Investments to Improve Commercial Areas

Defining Downtown Dunwoody (What, Where, Why)

Veterans Memorial - Funding

Homecoming/Wildcat Parks

Peachtree Middle School Turf

Drones / Flock / EMS Service / Staffing / Technology

Speed Limits   

Boards and Commissions

Municipal Service Rebidding

Proposed Charter Changes 2025 and proposed 2020 changes.

2024 City Manager Monthly Reports

2024 Quarterly Departmental Reports

2024 Quarterly Financial Reports

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 May 13, 2024 (Apartments & Hotel at State Farm, Vermack / DHS sidewalk & lighting, Waterford Playground, General Fund Update)

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday May 13, 2024 - 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/84919972403 or  phone +14703812552,,84919972403#

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

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance 

Recognition of Citizens' Police Academy Class XIV Graduates (Officer Hernandez/Chief Carlson)

Administration of Oath of Office to Officer Alvin Slocum

Public comments - in person 3 min each / 30 min max with additional at end of meeting if needed. 

Economic Development Update (Michael Starling)

City Manager's Monthly Report

Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Peachtree Corners for the Winters Chapel Path Phase 2 Project

Contract with TSW for Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Code

SECOND READ: RZ 23-03, 245 Perimeter Center Parkway: Rezone from PDc to PDc to amend the zoning conditions of case RZ 15-072 to allow the development of a mixed use project including office, hotel, and multifamily residential with associated retail, restaurant, amenity space, and structured parking

Request for Additional Personnel: Public Safety Ambassadors (Chief Carlson)

Approval of a Contract and Funding Authorization for Phase II of the Vermack Path at Dunwoody High School

Approval of a Lighting Services Agreement with Georgia Power for the Vermack Path

Approval of SS4A Implementation Grant Application for North Peachtree Road

Contract Award for Waterford Park Playground Equipment

Discussion of Conversion of Contracted Positions to City Positions for the Technology Department

2024 City Council Retreat Recap

General Fund Forecast and Update

Dunwoody City Council agenda for Monday March 25, 2024 (4.25% raise, IT position conversion, Park Signs, New Crosswalks, LPR's in PCID)

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/86390235645 or  phone +14703812552,,86390235645#

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

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance 

Public comments - in person 3 min each / 30 min max with additional at end of meeting if needed.

Dunwoody High School Youth City Council (Michael Berry)

Retreat Recap

SECOND READ: MMSP 24-01: Review and Consideration of a Major Master Sign Plan for 4896 N Peachtree Road (Kingswood Church)

SECOND READ: MMSP 24-02: Review and Consideration of a Major Master Sign Plan for 4553 N Shallowford Road - Emory Healthcare  (Wall Sign - lights out 10:30 to 5:30)

Approval to Apply Additional Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant Funds to the 2024 Paving Contract

Approval of Flock Safety Two Year Contract for LPRs, Surveillance Cameras, and Gunshot Detection in the PCID Area

Approval of a Contract with Sunbelt to Install Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons on Perimeter Center West and North Peachtree Road

• ITB_Document_Crosswalk_North_Peachtree_Road_Chesnut
• Construction Plans for Chesnut Crossing

Discussion of Conversion of Contracted Positions and Creation of New City Position for the Technology Department

Discussion of Amendment of Position Allocation and Compensation Chart and Market Adjustment for City Employees  - 4.25% Raise

Contract Award for Parks and Recreation Sign Package

Contract Award for North Shallowford Annex Maintenance Repairs

Discussion on Approval of Agreement for Managed Networking Service Provider

2024 City of Dunwoody Retreat Recap from Councilman John Heneghan (Park Plans, Financial Future, Police Priorities and maybe a few paths too)

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 11th and notice of Dunwoody Retreat on Tuesday & Wednesday in Clarksville, GA

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday March 11, 2024 - 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/84919972403 or  phone +14702509358,,84919972403#

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

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

City Manager's Monthly Report (Eric Linton)

Perimeter Brand Strategy (Ann Hanlon)

FIRST READ: MMSP 24-01: Review and Consideration of a Major Master Sign Plan for 4896 N Peachtree Road (Kingswood Church)

FIRST READ: MMSP 24-02: Review and Consideration of a Major Master Sign Plan for 4553 N Shallowford Road (Emory Healthcare)

SECOND READ: Text Amendment to Chapter 2, Sec. 2-253 re: Board of Ethics

SECOND READ: Text Amendment to Chapter 4, Sec. 4-70 re: Alcohol License Review Board

Funding Authorization for 1302 Center Drive Emergency Storm Repairs

Funding Authorization for 2707 Wood Hollow Drive Storm Repairs

Resolution for Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year 2023

Approval to Purchase Signal Poles for Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon Installations on Perimeter Center West and North Peachtree Road (Chesnut Elementary)

• ITB_Document_Crosswalk_North_Peachtree_Road_Chesnut
• Construction Plans for Chesnut Crossing

Retreat Notice - Open to the Public & Live Streamed

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL

SPECIAL CALLED MEETING

2024 STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT

MARCH 12 & 13, 2024 - 9:30 AM/ 9:00 AM

GLEN-ELLA SPRINGS INN (CONFERENCE ROOM)

1789 BEAR GAP ROAD

CLARKSVILLE, GA 30523

 

Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

    Please click this URL to join. https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/84283419077

 

Or One tap mobile:

    +14703812552,,84283419077# US (Atlanta)

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2024 Strategic Planning Session over two days.
(Sorry no read ahead documents available to Council or Public)

March 12th Agenda - City Site
March 13th Agenda - City Site

Dunwoody Commercial Real Estate Review
Parks
Budgets, Revenues, Expenditures, Millages and Trends
Council Meetings
Public Safety
Dunwoody 2035

Dunwoody City Council Agenda for Monday April 10, 2023 (SLUP Decision, $55 Million Bond discussion) and a Recap of City Retreat Discussions.

 DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
April 10, 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.

Invocation

Public comments - in person 3 min each / 30 min max with additional at end of meeting if needed.

Stage Door Theater Presentation (Justin Ball)

City Manager's Report (Eric Linton)

Funding Authorization for 2146 Brendon Drive & 5175 Hathburn Court Storm Repairs

Resolution - Readopting Ethics Principles and Pledges for Purposes of Being Re-certified as City of Ethics

Approval of a Contract for Citywide Pavement Assessment Update

SECOND READ for SLUP 22-03: Special Land Use Permit to Allow a 7 Resident Personal Care Home at 1822 Mount Vernon Road.

Discussion of Capital Needs and Potential G.O. Bond Call

• Retreat Update from March discussions.
  

I hope everyone had a relaxing Spring break from school & enjoyed the holidays with family whereby you are now ready to return to the normalcy of April & May, with everything that it brings (Lemonade Days, Food Trucks, better weather & end of the school year). My family drove to Chicago to see our parents who are getting up in age therefore my city blogging / informational duties fell behind a bit.

On March 22 & 23, the City Council met with representatives of Canton, GA and then regrouped in Dahlonega, GA for internal discussions on numerous topics. Here are the official minutes from the retreat that will be approved Monday and let me point out that the last several pages of that document outline the action items for staff & council.  All of the documents used in the retreat are listed below but let me highlight a few.  

The Dunwoody's Own Direction document starts us off with our goals from the Comprehensive Plan and how we have been working towards them this year vs last years accomplishments.  We discussed changing city demographics, improved diversity opportunities, our work on Dunwoody Village improvements, and Pedestrian Safety.

We discussed Public Safety with Chief Grogan, the push for EMS changes and police staffing needs that we believe will be detailed in the upcoming Berry-Dunn Report.  

We discussed Communications, specifically improved public engagement & feedback on citizen Code Enforcement & See Click Fix issues and then we discussed how to improve City Contracting of large public works projects for better results.  

The 15 million dollars of Federal Funding / American Rescue Plan was discussed, we went over the expenditures.  Council requested assurances that expenditures will be made within the Federal timelines and on appropriate allowed subjects.

Bond Referendum - The last big item we discussed was the funding of Capital Projects and whether a Bond referendum is appropriate for this coming November.  A citizen committee was convened to discuss this topic and made a list, the City Council may finalize the list of desires and call the question to hold a referendum, but it is the citizens who will need to approve or deny the call to raise taxes for capital improvements.  The capital discussions have routinely been around the improvement of Parks, Transportation / Street Intersections, and multi-use Paths.  

I am against the City's construction of 12 ft wide concrete paths in front of single family homes and I prefer three referendum questions so that citizens (like me) could vote for some projects and possibly against others but it appears that may not be the plan?  Ideas on path locations are not set in stone and at the retreat some path ideas being pushed previously were removed (probably because of the backlash) and new ones were being added without vetting to to public nor having any engineering designs to really discuss the proposals.  The Chesnut community has been vocal for needed improvements on North Peachtree between Dunwoody Village Apartments and Peachtree / Brook Run, therefore this idea was just added for a new trail and as much as I want improved infrastructure for safety, I still believe a 12 ft concrete path is overkill.   The other new addition calls out Dunwoody Village path improvements but I believe it is really a 12 ft concrete trail along Chamblee Dunwoody from Womack to the new Austin Park.  Neither of these projects have been engineered, vetted, or even discussed with the nearby residents. 

I raised concerns on the one question idea, I raised the fact that we just received 7 million dollars from the sale of land on Shallowford that was originally intended for parks; therefore the City should plan for spending that money prior asking the citizens for more.  Finally I still have long term budgetary concerns based on the rising cost of government operations (Public Safety in particular) and general maintenance vs the possibility of an unstable business tax base when we have several large office buildings vacant.   The last item on Monday nights agenda will initiate a discussion for a $55 million bond referendum whereby a single question will be brought in front of the citizens.

City Retreat Minutes & File Location for Retreat Attachments

00a Meeting Agenda 3-22-23.docx
00b Meeting Agenda 3-23-23.docx
01a Dunwoody's Own Direction.pptx
01b Canton Road Map Details.pdf
01c Last Year's Recap.pptx
02 Public Safety.pptx
03 ARP.pptx
04 Diversity Opportunities.docx
05a Committee Education and Acknowledgement.pptx
05b Dunwoody Training.pptx
06a Capital.pptx
06b Previous SPLOST Referendum.pdf
06c Previous Bond Presentation.pptx
07 Dunwoody Village.pptx
08 Safe Streets.pptx
09 Communications.pptx
10a Constituency Repsonse Customer Service
10b Contract Flow Chart.docx
10b Liquidated Damages and Traffic Control
99 APPENDIX
99 BONDS
Retreat_Minutes_04102023_approval.pdf

City of Dunwoody "Retreat" schededuled for Wednesday & Thursday of this week at the Forest Hills Resort & Conference Center in Dahlonega

 AGENDA

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL

SPECIAL CALLED MEETING

MARCH 22 & 23 2023

 

ETOWAH RIVER PARK PLAYGROUND

600 BROWN INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY

CANTON, GEORGIA 30114

 

CANTON CITY HALL

110 ACADEMY STREET

CANTON, GEORGIA 30114

 

AND

 

FORREST HILLS RESORT

CONFERENCE CENTER

135 FORREST HILLS ROAD

DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA 30533

 

 

Wednesday Call-In Information - starting at 2 pm.

Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

    Please click this URL to join. https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/82809829280

 

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    Webinar ID: 828 0982 9280

Thursday Call-In Information - starting at 8 am.

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    Please click this URL to join. https://dunwoodyga-gov.zoom.us/j/89255205932

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Or join by phone:
    Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
        US: +1 470 250 9358  or +1 470 381 2552
Webinar ID: 892 5520 5932

 

DUNWOODY CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL CALLED MEETING

 

9:30 A.M. - SITE VISIT - ETOWAH RIVER PARK PLAYGROUND

 

10:15 A.M. - CANTON CITY HALL – (CANTON CITY MANAGER)   2:00 P.M. Wednesday – 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING DISCUSSION – FORREST HILLS RESORT 8:00 A.M. Thursday – 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING DISCUSSION – FORREST HILLS RESORT

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION - FOR THE PURPOSE OF CYBER SECURITY, LEGAL, REAL ESTATE, AND PERSONNEL DISCUSSION

 

RECESS

 

Wednesday & Thursday of this week the Dunwoody City Council and Staff will be meeting for two days to discuss high level planning topics in order to set future work topics.  Council gets no read ahead documents but I am guessing many of the same topics from last year will be covered this year.  The agenda published at the moment is only for Wednesday but it does include a Zoom link to watch (or maybe just listen) but I am unsure if that same link will work for Thursday too?

The retreat conversations really start at 2 pm on Wednesday in Dahlonega and I would expect the day to be done by 6 pm therefore with only four hours, I am guessing we will be talking about everything but finances.  Council spends the night there and guessing we start the Thursday meeting at 8 am kicking off the topic of finances and future project funding, followed by other topics not completed on Wednesday.  

 

The Zoom link is different each day as shown above, see the city agenda page details on each day.

These meetings are open to the public and the press, and hopefully we will have both in attendance to report on what we are discussing.  There is always a slim chance that even though we plan to stream the meetings that there may be technical difficulties with the internet, therefore having in person reporters to report these events is a feather in the cap to the news agencies who cover.  Last year, the Crier had a reporter there both days and probably stayed close overnight. PS: even if the streaming system were to crap out the meetings are recorded by the City Clerk and could be obtained immediately after the meeting.

Read the retreat recap document from January 2023 to see 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 topics may be back on the retreat agenda for council to come to a consensus about possibly adding these items 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.

 

No formal votes are typically taken at retreats, therefore no matter what happens at the retreat, Council will be holding public hearings or informational meetings before any final policy is enacted while at a formal city council meeting in the future.