AJC Attempts to Summarize Annexation Plans
Decatur Metro | June 26, 2008The AJC recaps the annexation issue in Decatur and Avondale this morning, with a couple gross exaggerations and few new details.
The paper starts out framing Decatur’s annexation issue around everyone’s favorite topic…declining home values.
Dropping property values, the driving force for so much economic misery in metro Atlanta, are also reviving talk of annexation in two central DeKalb County cities.
Decatur, which put the brakes on the discussion last winter, plans several meetings later this summer to offer information and gather input on the prospect of adding more land to the city.
Alright…so let’s tackle these first two sentences. First off, neither is quite true. Decatur has been mulling annexation for much longer than the length of the current housing slowdown. If I may sum up the mayor’s thoughts on this subject from late last year…Decatur’s problem is (and has been) the large percentage of residential property in relation to commercial. Not simply “declining home values” over the last 12 months.
And while declining home values would certainly hurt the city’s coffers…its a bit unclear whether that’s the case in Decatur. The AJC’s own report has Decatur residential land prices up 6.6% from last year, even though the the city stated that it lost $4 mil in property value last year. (I’m a bit unclear of the discrepancy, but one is certainly that the AJC number is only residential, while the city’s figure most likely includes commercial/industrial, etc…)
Onto the second sentence. As I’ve said previously…Decatur didn’t put the annexation issue “on hold” late last year, as the AJC asserts above. The heavily-attended city manager’s report commission meeting was just an early preliminary step of seriously evaluating the option of annexation. The mayor and every commissioner made it clear that this was a very preliminary step in the process and recognized that they were far from finished with this evaluation stage…especially concerning the school capacity issue. The AJC has made this misstatement before…so I can only assume the author simply went to the AJC archives for the backstory and wrote it again.
All that said, I found two interesting little tidbits of info in this article…
The first is a strong quote from Mayor Floyd stating…
“Quite honestly, you’re talking about survival as a city, when 60 percent of our income comes from property taxes,”
In case you thought the mayor was on the fence on this issue, now you know better.
Also, it references a February meeting between Decatur and Avondale of which I hadn’t heard many details…
The two cities met in February to discuss the potential for their borders to meet at Sams Crossing on College Avenue. [emphasis mine]
Decatur considered gobbling both commercial and residential land east of its current borders, while Avondale Estates wants only the commercial strip between Sams Crossing and its current border at Maple Street.
Could be a hint of annexation plans to come…
I emailed the writer earlier this morning concerning the continued misreporting of the earlier City Commission meeting. I am pleased that the AJC has finally perhaps moved Mr. Donsky off of Decatur, but his poor legacy lives on. Please write April Hunt (ahunt@ajc.com) to let her know your thoughts on what really happened at that meeting. Repeating misinformation does not help anyone.
I live in Avondale Estates and if the two cities have gotten together, it’s been secret meetings. I attend all the city council meetings and I know the mayor has said he’s met with the mayor of Decatur and with county and state officials on this topic, but nothing is happening or being discussed in any meetings.
Second, the reason Avondale is interested in annexation is because when you drive into the city from the west, it looks like crap. So I’m told they want to annex the commercial area west of the city and promote growth and development. The city also depends on nearly 100% of its revenue from property taxes and needs commercial growth to offset what homeowners pay.
As for Decatur, the AJC missed the boat here! The REAL reason Decatur is so interested in bringing residential into the city (for instance, Forrest Hills) is because it wants it wants to grow its population before the 2010 census. This will help the city gain additional funding and services. Everyone knows commercial annexation makes sense, it is the residential that raises an eyeball because it costs you more to provide services.
And why is anyone reading the AJC anyway? The paper basically reads other publications and then rehashes its news and tries to make you think it’s really covering your community. You refer to April Hunt. How can one reporter cover all the cities in one county?
“The REAL reason Decatur is so interested in bringing residential into the city (for instance, Forrest Hills) is because it wants it wants to grow its population before the 2010 census. This will help the city gain additional funding and services.”
Huh?
John Q. please explain this theory. I’ve never heard it before and don’t understand how the city makes more money than it spends off of upping its population.
When the state and federal government hands out aid, more people equals more money. The more people a city has, the larger the the amount of aid it is eligible to receive.
The city of Atlanta and Fulton County have consistently challenged its Census undercounts just for this reason. Also, the larger the populaton base, the lower the crime rate.
Population numbers affect such funding as the Community Development Block Grant given to localities. A reduction in block grant money means fewer dollars for people needing Section 8 housing assistance and energy assistance.
Thanks for this take, John, but I’m still a little unclear. In the Decatur case, the proposed area includes a lot of single family homes and somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 kids. Are you saying the city would become eligible for enough fed and state money to offset the net loss these families represent in terms of property taxes paid vs. city services received? That seems like an awful lot of grant money.
OK, I understand the lower crime rate argument. Incorporate a lot of “safe neighborhoods” where there is no crime and even if your city has the same total # of crimes, your percentage goes down because your base is larger. Of course the catch is…those neighborhoods need to be safer than the “average” Decatur neighborhood. And I’m not sure that’s the case with the potential annexation neighborhoods Decatur is looking at. If that was our motive…I think we’d be trying to annex Druid Hills to our west…not industrial/commercial along College and up by Suburban Plaza.
And I agree with Scott. I don’t see how Decatur sees any extra money in aid from annexation. I understand why Atlanta would argue undercounting…because any additional adjustment up is pure “profit”. They aren’t serving any more residents. But like Scott said…with annexation you have to support additional residents, so an increase in aid is completely justified, no?
Just a point of clarification. The population argument is a new one to me.
The City is a joint applicant with DeKalb County for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Once DeKalb County is awarded funding, the City of Decatur submits our projects to the DeKalb County Community Development Department for review and recommendation as to whether or not the proposed project meets CDBG redevelopment and community development needs. CDBG funds are distributed to projects that meet the needs of low income and economically disadvantaged communities, not on population basis.
Peggy Merriss
City Manager
Ms. Merris, my question is why are we annexing so much residential in Forrest Hills and Midway Woods? Why not just annex the areas north of College? I really think that there would be a lot more support for the annexation from within Decatur if it was focused more on the commercial property that Decatur needs so badly. It seems counterproductive to include so much residential. Avondale is leaving residential out of the mix, so why do we wish to include so much of it?
Thanks for any information that you can provide!
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Just annexing the areas North of College would end up hurting lots of us that are in between Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur. There are lots of residential homes here. We bought our homes specifically so that we were outside the city limits of Decatur. If we wanted to double our taxes, we would live inside the city limits. We think it’s a crime that the City of Decatur would try to force us to be annexed. How dare they be that arrogant? There will be a lot of angry residents fighting this. Why is the City of Decatur trying to slide this by the residents? They should be sending out notices to all affected to give people a chance to voice their opinion. That has not happened.
I received this from State Rep Stephanie Stuckey Benfield after I sent her an email:
Thanks so much for sharing your views against the proposed annexation of your neighborhood. I am taking input from the community on this issue and will also carefully review the recommendations from the City of Decatur that are expected to be released in the fall. I can assure you that I will not introduce legislation during the 2009 session (which begins in January 2009) if the majority of residents in your area are opposed to the annexation proposal. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.
Stephanie
State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
House District
85940 Artwood Road, N.E.Atlanta, GA 30307-1304
(404) 377-7014 (home)
(404) 656-7859 (Capitol)
(404) 964-7025(cell)
http://www.stuckey.org
She can be contacted at . If you are in the proposed annexation area and oppose it, please contact her.
Double the taxes? There may be many reasons to not support annexation, but lets not continue to perpetuate the untruth that Decatur citizens pay double the property taxes that unincorporated Dekalb citizens do.
There is no doubt Decaturites pay more, but the reality is that the millage rate for unincorporated Dekalb is $39.30 and the combined Decatur and unincorporated Dekalb millage rate for Decatur homeowners is $42.80. According to my math, that is 9% more.
Not quite double. But for my money, paying 9% more for Decatur services is every bit worth the price and wouldn’t trade it for a minute.
And who is forcing you to be annexed? Residents in the proposed area ultimately vote on incorporation. Majority rules.
Also, nothing is being slid by you. When and if Decatur finally gets its ducks in a row, it will inform all residents in the proposed area that annexation is under consideration…as is required by law.
Hey, you can come annex Scottdale! I’d love to stay in this great house and have the good schools. Will keep us from moving when the time comes. I’m joking, of course. We’re way outside any talk like that (and if you think Suburban Plaza area is iffy…)