Heneghan’s Dunwoody Blog: Warren Hutmacher

After serving more than five years as the first City Manager for the City of Dunwoody, Warren Hutmacher today resigned his position. Hutmacher moves on to become the new City Manager in Johns Creek but remains in his position at the City of Dunwoody until April 25, 2014.

“Naturally, I have mixed emotions about the decision,” said Hutmacher. “While my family and I are excited to move to Johns Creek, our time in Dunwoody has been very special. Leaving a job in a community as extraordinary as Dunwoody is hard, but I am leaving behind an exceptional team of employees.”

Hutmacher has been with the city since inception and was the first official city employee. Hutmacher’s significant accomplishments with the City of Dunwoody include the introduction of the “split contract service model”, the city’s Project Renaissance redevelopment initiative and the infrastructure investments made over the last five years.

“We established a solid foundation for future success. All of the long-range plans for the city are in place and there is a considerable surplus of funds for a rainy day. There are a number of projects underway that I think will have a long lasting impact on the community. I am proud of my time in Dunwoody.”

The City of Dunwoody operates under a unique “split contract service model” to provide the most efficient and effective services to its citizens and businesses. The model uses private sector entities to provide key municipal services. The city has saved a considerable amount of money by creating a competitive environment for municipal service delivery.

Project Renaissance is a partnership between the city and John Wieland Homes on 35 acres within a key redevelopment zone in the Georgetown neighborhood. Project Renaissance adds much needed park space, new single-family homes, a multi-use trail, and future potential space for a City Hall and a planned commercial node to serve the greater neighborhood.

The City of Dunwoody has made significant financial investments over the past five years to pave roads, build and repair sidewalks and rebuild the storm water infrastructure. All of this was accomplished without incurring any long-term debt.

“As Mayor, I’ve seen Warren’s stabilizing and innovative impact on our community,” said Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis. “His steady leadership and willingness to take on out-of-the-box ideas has paid dividends for the long-term best interest of the city. We thank him for his service and wish him nothing but success in his new job in Johns Creek.”

http://dunwoodyga.gov/home/News-Details/14-03-24/Dunwoody_City_Manager_leaves_for_City_of_Johns_Creek.aspx

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Dunwoody CAD2CAD 911 Project hits another snag, City Manager sends letter to Interact Public Safety

Video of Update from City Manager

Letter to Interact

Mr. John McNulty
President and Chief Executive Officer
Interact Public Safety
Global Headquarters
102 W 3rd St., Ste 750
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

RE: Dunwoody-DeKalb CAD-to-CAD Interface Project

Dear Mr. McNulty:

I am writing this letter in hopes that your assistance may improve an exceedingly frustrating and disappointing experience my community continues to have with a project we are working on with your firm.

As a matter of background, in October 2011 the City of Dunwoody transitioned 911 calltaking services from DeKalb County to the Chattahoochee River 911 Authority (ChatComm). ChatComm provides call-taking and police dispatch but DeKalb County continues to dispatch fire and emergency medical services.

Prior to the transition, we embarked on project to connect these two 911 centers through a CAD-to-CAD interface between OSSI Sungard (CAD provider for Dunwoody and ChatComm) and InterAct Public Safety (CAD provider for DeKalb County).

All major development on the interface was completed in early 2012. It is now March 2014 and we continue to face delay after delay in testing to complete this project. The testing phase of the project has been a disastrous set of failures.

The Mayor and City Council are furious that this process has taken several years and is still incomplete. My staff and I have run out of answers as to why this project has been ongoing for nearly three years.

The public pressure has mounted to get this project completed to levels I haven't seen in my 17 years in local government. Frankly, the reputation of the City, our service providers and the vendors responsible for completing the job has suffered mightily. Every missed expectation and additional "bug" in the interface that prevents the system from working properly is growing the discontent astronomically.

I am at the breaking point with my patience with the failure of this interface to work properly. Your immediate attention is critical to bring this matter to a successful conclusion. Sincerely,

Warren Hutmacher
City Manager

Memo to Council dated March 10, 2014

Update on CAD-to-CAD Interface

A center-to-center testing call at the end of February revealed four final challenges from the CAD system update that was completed in February. Following the testing call we launched an action plan to address each of the issues identified and are making steady progress.

One issue relates to fire response zone mapping and staging. As part of the CAD update, an outdated response zone map had been connected to the interface. Rather than staging units from the nearest Dunwoody station, for certain parts of the City, the system was suggesting dispatch from stations further out in the surrounding area. To correct this issue we had to review the code, locate the outdated response zone map, and replace it. The second relates to how incidents on Interstate 285 displayed once transferred to DeKalb. We determined that because these incidents are shared with cross streets (such as I-285 Eastbound / Ashford Dunwoody), the issue was that the"/" character was not transferring correctly. To address that issue, the developers are making additional code changes so the "/" character would be properly translated. The final two issues relate to the transference of certain determinant codes from ChatComm to DeKalb. This issue will be addressed by updating the translation table which connects the two systems. We are working with the developers to determine how long these final changes and updates will take.

All the key parties in the project are focused on the decisive steps for completion so we can surpass the industry standard for call transference.

ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATIONS

In recent days, Council has requested clarification related to the development of the interface. First, regarding who is developing the interface and secondly related to the ability to outsource that development.

Unlike a traditional software project, the City has not hired a software vendor to write code and develop the interface. The interface code is developed by the two CAD vendors. One of which is under contract with DeKalb County and the other under contract with ChatComm. There is no technology vendor that is responsible to the City on this project.

Secondly, it has been suggested that a third party could connect these two disparate CAD systems and develop the interface in a manner that was more efficient. Early in the process the City explored this option. We found a third party software vendor that agreed to develop the interface but the two CAD vendors would not agree to the arrangement. Utilizing a third party developer would have allowed each CAD vendor's proprietary code to be held by a third party and they did not feel comfortable with any level of confidentiality agreements.

Both of these issues highlight the fact that had we been allowed to utilize a third party software vendor, we would have had a party beholden to us to complete the interface. As it is, we have little leverage over the two CAD system providers building the interface. We are forced to allow the two vendors to work together to build the interface using a software requirements document they jointly developed and to which they jointly agreed.

In short, we do not manage the technology or the development of the technology. Staff works diligently with both 911 centers and the CAD vendors to ensure resources are appropriately dedicated to the project and that time and attention is focused on the decisive
steps needed to reach completion.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Video of Dunwoody Town Hall Meeting of Feb 20, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq1huZIthHA

Video

On February 20, 2014 the City of Dunwoody hosted a Town Hall meeting with residents and community members to further the conversation about city governance, spending, projects and initiatives. Town Hall attendees had the opportunity to vote on and prioritize the topics for discussion, ask questions in an open meeting format and participate in a transparent and informative dialogue.

My favorite question of the night comes from an 8th grade young lady at the 1 hour 15 min mark asking about what we are going to be doing about providing park space for more active recreation.

The issue of what to do with the back 30 acres of Brook Run Park can be debated and voted upon now but the reality is that DeKalb County owes us 7 million dollars that can only be spent in Brook Run. No large scale recreational development will happen until that money is obtained and it will be the sitting City Council at the time who will ultimately be making the decision.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

City of Dunwoody explains 911 call taken by Chatcomm and transferred to DeKalb.

In October 2011, the Chattahoochee River 911 Authority (ChatComm) began answering and dispatching Dunwoody’s 9-1-1 calls. Police service calls constitute approximately 90% of the City’s emergency call volume. Since the transition, the average amount of time needed to dispatch police calls has been cut in half, moving from an average of 4 minutes and 33 seconds down to an average of 2 minutes and 13 seconds.

DeKalb County continues to provide fire and emergency medical service to the City including the dispatching of those resources. Since the transition, calls requiring fire or emergency medical service have been transferred using the industry standard, one-button transfer. Fire and emergency medical service calls constitute approximately 10% of the City’s emergency call volume or roughly 10 calls per day. The average amount of time needed to transfer calls between the two centers is approximately 90 seconds.

To surpass the industry standard one-button transfer method and eliminate the associated transfer time, staff has been coordinating the development of a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)-to-CAD interface to connect ChatComm’s CAD system to DeKalb’s CAD system. Once completed, this interface will allow the call information for fire and emergency medical service calls to be electronically shared and eliminate the transfer time.

At the January 27th, Dunwoody City Council Meeting former Councilor Danny Ross played a 911 call where Chatcomm answered quickly but a fair amount of time passed before DeKalb 911 answered and we were told by Mr. Ross that the Dunwoody Police were not dispatched as the Council had believed was the case on all medical emergencies. At that time, I asked for a formal reply regarding this incident be provided to Council as we were under the assumption that Dunwoody PD indeed followed up on all Medical Calls.

The complete audio of the 911 call is available here and the public comment by Danny Ross is shown below and starts at the 29 minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F35JPBj7kjg

Video - start at 29:00

Council received an email on Tuesday explaining the circumstances as outlined below and again in Chief Grogan's Memo. Long story, short - a Dunwoody Police Supervisor called off the police presence on this medical call as DeKalb Fire was already rolling and was just a block away thereby assuring that DeKalb Fire would arrive first. Policemen make life and death judgements everyday and this decision to defer to DeKalb Fire was made by a fully informed experienced officer with the responsibility to maximize safety within 13 square miles. DeKalb Fire was a block away and we deferred to them to handle and I am satisfied with that answer. We have also identified a Chatcomm error in the recording and this is being addressed with them for corrections and retraining as they pride themselves as being a Center of Excellence.

Email from Mr. Warren Hutmacher, City Manager

"Please review the attached information from Chief Grogan regarding the 911 call you heard at the last Council meeting. Although the memo speaks for itself, I will point out a few things:

1. Until the CAD to CAD is implemented there will always be a delay on medical and fire calls due to the call transfer from one 911 center to another 911 center. There is nothing about this call that differs from our experience with the one button transfer since the cutover to ChatComm.

2. The ChatComm policy regarding starting Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) within 13 seconds of an attempt to transfer the call or 3 rings was not followed properly. ChatComm will investigate that further and handle any personnel issues related to the incident.

3. The caller was never placed on hold, but instead was able to hear when the call was put in the cue hold by DeKalb 911.

4. Dunwoody Police were dispatched as per the policy and current practice. A Dunwoody Police Supervisor cancelled the call for Dunwoody PD based on their best judgment at the time. The primary factor related to our cancellation of our response was that DeKalb Fire was already in route to the call with the appropriate personnel to handle the medical call.
5. DeKalb Fire and Rescue was very quick in their response to the scene."

Memo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbnHBwpjKjE

Video

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/24647716/residents-call-for-changes-to-dunwoodys-911-system

Crier - Council angry over delayed 911 call, no police dispatch
Reporter - Dunwoody council member asks for report on emergency call placed on hold

The City of Dunwoody has taken on this complex CAD 2 CAD initiative as it is in the best interests of the community as it should provide a Gold Standard level of service that is not available in communities who continue to use the one button transfer method. This project took a huge amount of cooperation and communication between various governments and computer vendors to work out the details. Sometimes change happens slower than you would prefer when others are reluctant to change, therefore I am very pleased that we are in the final stages of this proposed project.

The latest update provided to Council is very promising as there is a tentative to go live on March 1st if not before.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Recap of Feb 25th Dunwoody City Council Meeting

Video

Recap: I was having some video difficulties on Monday night but below are the decisions on the items.

Discussion of Options for the Ethics Ordinance Rewrite. (Good discussion - draft next month)

Proclamation - Recognition of School Crossing Guards. (deferred as Guards unavailable, rescheduled)

Recognition of Detective Ronny Delima for Achieving Certification as a Licensed Computer Forensic Examiner. (Congrats Ronny!)

Resolution of Streetlight District-Whitney Landing. (Passed)

Resolution of Streetlight District Leisure Ridge. (Passed)

Resolution Amending City Manager's Contract (Passed)

Resolution Authorizing Merit Increase for City Clerk (Passed)

Second Read: Ordinance to Authorize the Lease of Fire Station 12 to DeKalb County. (Deferred waiting on DeKalb)

Second Read: Ordinance to Authorize the Lease of the Dunwoody Library to DeKalb County. (Deferred waiting on DeKalb)

Second Read: Ordinance to Authorize Transfer of the Water Tower Property to DeKalb (Deferred waiting on DeKalb)

Award of Contract for the Award of Contract 13-01 Project Renaissance Park Construction. (Passed)

Action Item: Authorizing City Manager to Allocate Funding Up to $10,000 for Seasonal Concert Series. (Deferred, waiting to see what DHA requests from City)

Motion Statement: To Relocate the First Monthly 7pm Council Meeting to Dias (Agreed without formal action.)

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Agenda for February 25th Dunwoody City Council Meeting

Monday, February 25th
Dunwoody City Hall
41 Perimeter Center East

Dunwoody, GA 30346

6:00 p.m. - Work Session

7:00 p.m. - Meeting Agenda
Watch Live at 7 pm

Agenda

Discussion of Options for the Ethics Ordinance Rewrite. (6pm Agenda)
Proclamation - Recognition of School Crossing Guards.

Recognition of Detective Ronny Delima for Achieving Certification as a Licensed Computer Forensic Examiner.

Resolution of Streetlight District-Whitney Landing.

Resolution of Streetlight District Leisure Ridge.

Resolution Amending City Manager's Contract

Resolution Authorizing Merit Increase for City Clerk

Second Read: Ordinance to Authorize the Lease of Fire Station 12 to DeKalb County.

Second Read: Ordinance to Authorize the Lease of the Dunwoody Library to DeKalb County.

Second Read: Ordinance to Authorize Transfer of the Water Tower Property to DeKalb

Award of Contract for the Award of Contract 13-01 Project Renaissance Park Construction.

Georgia Development Partners is the apparent low bidder at $1,698,678.

Playground & Square park designs
Tree Plans for Playground and Square park
12 foot path throughout design
Excess dirt will be brought to Brook Run back 30 acres to create more useable green space.

Full Construction Plans - Large File of 64 MB

Action Item: Authorizing City Manager to Allocate Funding Up to $10,000 for Seasonal Concert Series.

Motion Statement: To Relocate the First Monthly 7pm Council Meeting to Dias

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Proposed 2013 City of Dunwoody Budget offered by Mayor Mike Davis and City Manager Warren Hutmacher

Full 40 Page Document

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

DeKalb raised Dunwoody's Millage (Tax) Rate the highest in the County - Live Stream Meeting 8 am Tuesday

Farmer Bob turns into City (County) Slicker when needed.

There will be a (Live Streamed) meeting of the Finance, Audit, & Budget (FAB) Committee of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 8 a.m. The location will be the Maloof Bldg, 5^th Floor, Board of Commissioners Offices, 1300 Commerce Dr, Decatur GA 30030.

1. DISCUSSION: The Budget Committee has invited the CEO, Executive Assistant, and Finance Director to a meeting to address the millage rate issues brought up by the Mayor’s of DeKalb County. All of the Mayors of DeKalb County have been invited to attend to participate in the discussion.

You can watch the complete replay: http://www.dekalbboc.com/

More background below ...

Mayors organize to question county millage - Dunwoody Crier

In the end, Dunwoody, which only uses the fire service, had the highest county millage increase (15.25 percent) followed by Doraville (9.84 percent), Chamblee (9.9 percent) and Stone Mountain (9.7 percent). “We want to understand how they did their calculations,” Dunwoody City Manager Warren Hutmacher said. “We want to make sure special tax districts are implemented consistent with the Service Delivery Strategy.” Because the millage rates are already set for this year and the county collects the taxes for the cities, Hutmacher said it would be impractical at this point to reset the millage rates this late in the year.

Mayors, county squabbling over millage rate hikes - Champion News

DeKalb County’s nine mayors, its county commissioners and CEO Burrell Ellis are expected to meet Aug. 28 to discuss concerns over disproportionate property tax increases. The cities, which are home to 102,794 residents, or 14.9 percent of the county’s population, say the county’s 2012 millage rates have increased their property taxes from 7 percent to 15 percent while the millage rate for unincorporated DeKalb declined by double digits for police, roads and parks.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Tire damage on Chamblee Dunwoody Road - Steel Plate and Spikes the cause?

Video

It looks as if a steel plate on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd caused tire damage to a few cars but was the city notified of the issue so we could repair it in a timely manner? No matter if this was a DeKalb water plate or not, the city is responsible for road safety. I couldn't find any notice given on the See Click Fix system but the story says that a resident called it in.

Safety is our top priority and these types of issues usually get corrected quickly. I trust if the City is a fault and was notified, that this was probably an isolated issue that was not entered into our See Click Fix system. I also fully trust that the location is now in good order and that our insurance company will properly handle any claims submitted.

Future work orders and corrective repair requests can be made easily by residents on the See Click Fix system and I fully encourage its use for road repair, sign replacements, traffic signals, code enforcement and right of way maintenance. There are even apps available for your phone to submit photos and GIS information of the issue.

Link

Friday, June 15, 2012

Detailed invoices document the Dunwoody Ethics investigation as well as $50,000.00 in expenses.

27 pages documenting $50,000.00

After numerous news stories regarding the investigation into the breach of executive session, a resident asked me if the details of the billing would ever become public therefore I took the liberty of filing an open records request on the residents behalf. This afternoon the City Clerk fulfilled the request within the allotted time and sent three documents both to me and the resident via email. I have taken the liberty of combining all three documents into the one linked above.

The invoices provide names and dates which gives insight into the investigation and the preparation of what is now the final ethics report written by Wilson, Morton & Downs.

The Ethics Board has been given the complaint which references the Wilson report and soon Councilwoman Adrian Bonser will be able to officially give her rebuttal to the Wilson accusations.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

City of Dunwoody Honored with Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities Certification

Bobbi Sedam, Connie Morelle, Danny Kanso, Rebecca Keefer, Warren Hutmacher, Denis Shortal.

The City of Dunwoody is honored to receive the Green Communities Silver Level Certification from the Atlanta Regional Commission in recognition of its efforts to reduce Dunwoody’s environmental footprint. The sustainable policies and ordinances adopted by City Council have propelled Dunwoody to the Silver Level certification and have impacted all departments of the City. The City officially received the award in a ceremony held yesterday afternoon at the Atlanta Regional Commission offices in Atlanta.

“This award recognizes Dunwoody’s continued dedication to sustainability by reducing our environmental footprint” stated Rebecca Keefer, Director of Sustainability. “The Green Communities Silver certification supports Dunwoody’s positive image as an amazing place to live and conduct business while setting a strong example for those seeking to reduce their environmental impact.”

Because of the Sustainability Commission the City has implemented policies requiring all new government buildings to have high efficiency plumbing fixtures, as well as, implementing a Complete Streets Policy emphasizing the need for the public right-of-way to accommodate a variety of users including motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders. The City Council adopted an LED Traffic Signal Policy in 2010, which eliminated the use of incandescent halogen bulbs in traffic signals. To date, 100% of all lights have been converted to LED bulbs, three years ahead of schedule.

Dunwoody’s efforts in sustainability date back to the first days of Cityhood. In December 2008 the Mayor and Council established the Dunwoody Sustainability Commission as a permanent advisory board. The Sustainability Commission convenes monthly to share research, ideas, and draft ecofriendly policies and ordinances in which to minimize environmental impacts of both the City and the community at large.

For additional information regarding Dunwoody’s Green Communities Certification please contact Rebecca Keefer, Director of Sustainability, at rebecca.keefer@dunwoodyga.gov or 678-382-6700. For more information on the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Green Communities Program please visit their website at http://www.atlantaregional.com/environment/green-communities.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

2011 Dunwoody 4th of July Parade with interviews of Mayoral Candidates

Video

I had a great day at the Dunwoody 4th of July, Independence Day Parade where I interviewed a few candidates, waved to thousands of people from the back of a golf cart, watched bands march by and served a little time in the dunk booth to raise money for a good cause.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve on the Dunwoody City Council, it has truly been my pleasure.

John

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Dunwoody unveiling new brand at the Dunwoody Music Festival on Oct 23

Dunwoody, Ga.

DUNWOODY, Ga. – The city of Dunwoody is set to unveil its new brand “designed to evoke the recognizable and distinctive qualities belonging to Dunwoody” later this month.

“The new brand is a representation of Dunwoody as a forward-thinking, passionate, caring, and fun community,” Edie Damann, Dunwoody’s marketing and PR manager, said in a news release. “A unified brand strategy provides each of our organizations with the tools to deliver more impactful, stronger, longer-lasting messages while reducing confusion as to who is delivering the messages.”

The brand will be unveiled on Oct. 23 during the Dunwoody Music Festival.

According to the city’s branding website, “A city’s brand works in the same way as a product or service’s brand. A city’s brand, when communicated correctly, will stand for everything that is good and different about the city and represents what the city wishes to be known for.”

A recent survey of more than 1,100 Dunwoody and Metro Atlanta residents found that “traditional,” “friendly,” “conservative” and “safe” are the words people most associated with the city. “Liberal” was selected as the word that people least associated with the city.

“Creating a brand for Dunwoody has been a collaborative process with area residents, and our partner organizations representing businesses and local tourism,” Dunwoody City Manager Warren Hutmacher said in a news release. “This year-long process has enabled us to create a cohesive brand strategy that also catered to each partner organization’s unique mission.”

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Dunwoody running within Budget, no tax increase and has surplus of cash.

Video

Monday, May 24, 2010

DeKalb 911 Problems Has Dunwoody Looking Elsewhere

Video

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Contracting for City of Dunwoody services, a look backward at millions of dollars.

The biggest issue facing the newly created City of Dunwoody was how were we going to provide city services? The City of Sandy Springs was the model and they used a master contractor who then subcontracted where they could. This system worked wonderfully for Sandy Springs but the price being offered to Dunwoody by a single bidder was a little on the expensive side and a group of community members with the guidance of Senator Dan Weber started exploring other options. Soon after, the master contractor CH2MHill withdrew the bid to provide city services and because of it, the city moved forward with a new model whereby we have a strong City Manager with direct oversight of numerous highly skilled contractors specializing in very targeted tasks. As time is proving the validity of our system, other communities now look to the Dunwoody model for possible new contracting options.

Check out this article in the AJC where our City Manager, Mr. Warren Hutmacher is quoted as to the efficiency and multi-million dollars in savings based on the system we use.

“By opening up the competition, we were able to draw better prices and draw in specialty firms,” Hutmacher said. “We were able to be innovative with new ideas, because of what had already been done.”

Looking back Dunwoody was lucky that we explored various options then took the one less traveled by, as that has made all the difference (in our budget).

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Dunwoody City Council Agenda - Mon Dec 14th

Monday, December 14th
Dunwoody City Hall
41 Perimeter Center East
Dunwoody, GA 30346
7:00 p.m. - Watch Live

Agenda

“Christmas for Kids” fundraiser sponsored by the Dunwoody PD
Introduction of North Metro SWAT Team
Resolution authorizing payment of bonus to City Manager.
Resolution authorizing payment of bonus to City Clerk.
Approval of Systemic Alien Verification Entitlements (SAVE) Program Intergovernmental Agreement.
SECOND READ: Ordinance to amend Chapter 27: Zoning, Personal Care Homes.
Award of contract for Dunwoody Village TE design.
Resolution to approve and authorize an IGA between the City of Dunwoody and North Fulton Municipalities for Aerial Imagery.
Approval of Mutual Aid Agreement between Dunwoody Police Department and Georgia Perimeter College.
A Child is Missing Call Alert Program.
Award of Municipal Court Management Software Contract.
Resolution to reappoint City Attorney.

Monday, November 30, 2009

City of Dunwoody Update by Councilman Robert Wittenstein

Dear Dunwoody Friends and Neighbors,

This is Thanksgiving weekend and I’d like to start by saying how thankful I am that Dunwoody residents have entrusted me with the responsibility to help lead our new city. I am humbled by the task and feel the responsibility deeply. I am often asked whether I’m enjoying my role as an elected official or whether it is what I expected. My answer is that it is time consuming but very rewarding. Thank you all for giving me the opportunity to serve.

I am tremendously thankful for our city staff. They do the hardest job every day. Warren Hutmacher has done a phenomenal job as City Manager. He was a wonderful choice and has done a great job. We have a city that operates quickly and efficiently and provides excellent customer service. We have vendor/partners who are performing well and being held to a high standard of performance.

Tuesday, December 1st marks our one-year anniversary of cityhood and it is appropriate, I think, to take a look back and a look forward.

In our first year, our challenge was to set up the city and establish a world-class police department. Chief Grogan has done an excellent job building a department that is responsive, professional and dedicated. Public safety will always be our number one priority and our largest annual expenditure.

In our first year, we have also answered the question posed repeatedly during the debate over incorporation: “Can we operate the city at a higher level of service than we were getting from DeKalb without a tax increase?” The answer is a resounding yes. We will end the year with a comfortable budget surplus despite the start-up costs we had to incur.

In 2010 we need to focus on planning. Next year, we will complete our 20-year city-wide Comprehensive Land Use Plan, a Transportation Plan and detailed re-development plans for Dunwoody Village and the Georgetown/Shallowford area. These plans will help guide our long range future. We have two more public meetings planned for January to seek resident input and I encourage you to participate. I’ll publish the dates and times next month.

We also need to begin working on repaving. We are just completing a survey (done by a laser truck that has driven over every street in Dunwoody) of the condition of all our roads and next year we will begin repaving the ones in the worst condition. Road paving is done partly with city funds and partly with gasoline tax revenue collected by the state and distributed to local governments according to a complicated formula. We have submitted our paperwork to be included in the 2010 allocations but we do not yet know how much of the state funds we will have available. Getting this state money will drive the timetable for when we can begin repaving work.

Our other major challenge for 2010 will be to secure city control over the parks in Dunwoody so we can begin to rehabilitate them. The Dunwoody Nature Center, Dunwoody Park ballfields, Brook Run, the Donaldson-Chesnut House and the DeKalb Cultural Arts Center all need much better ongoing maintenance and long-term investment through a capital spending program.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Regards,
Robert