In so many ways, Decatur’s got it buttoned up.

Our budget is top-notch; just ask our creditors.  The city lives and dies by the 10-year strategic development plan.  It’s in love with many of the ideas in it’s newish Community Transportation Plan.  It has an Athletic Facility Master Plan, AND Greenway Plan. And it often pays solemn homage to the grand-daddy plan of them all, The Town Center Plan.  (It’s kind of like our own Federalist Papers of the 1980s)

But in a town of self-proclaimed creative types and smarty-pantses, our arts scene doesn’t have a cohesive purpose down on paper…what you might call an um, plan!  That’s why the city is currently in the process of developing a Cultural Arts Master Plan.

But of course you already know that because you attended Decatur’s Cultural Arts Master Plan meeting a couple weeks back, right?

No?

Well, you might just want to watch this Decatur eLife video on the meeting and listen to what Linda Harris has to tell you…

…and then head on over to the city’s Open City Hall program and give your “official” feedback to the city on the following questions…

What cultural offerings in Decatur are you most proud of? Which offerings have you participated in? What would you like to see in the future? Did you attend a public input session?

I saw this in the Decatur Focus over the weekend, but the AJC beat me to it…

Decatur residents are needed to serve on two volunteer boards in the city.

The Decatur Development Authority and the city’s Planning Commission both need members to help with their duties. Each commission meets once a month at Decatur City Hall.

For more information, visit www.decaturga.com and click on resident boards and commissions under the city government services. Residents should complete a statement of interest form and send it to the City Manager’s office at City Hall on North McDonough Street.

Photo from 231 Sycamore

Along with the usual exciting liquor license applications – this time for the Pharmhouse Restaurant and Oakview Grocery – this evening’s city commission meeting includes a request for a $121,280 increase in funding for Glenlake Park improvements, which will fall within the project’s budget.

According to a letter (page 35 of PDF) from Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon to City Manager Peggy Merriss, the increase is the result of “several factors”, including the “owner’s and architect’s requirements and concealed site conditions”.  Saxon promises that the additional funds will result in a significant upgrade to the planned drainage system and landscape treatment of the park.”

According to a breakdown of the numbers, additional funding will be used for additional storm drainage improvements, landscape materials, a granite-faced concrete, utility changes, repaving the park’s main driveway and a screening fence at the park boundary along the creek.

Saxon closes his note with word that the recent wet weather has pushed back the completion date of Glenlake to “late March, early April 2010″.

If you’re a news-junkie with ink-stained fingers or um..carpal tunnel, you know the AJC has gone whole hog on evaluating tax assessments across the metro area and is reporting it’s findings in an in-depth series.

But the shocker being played up by the AJC, namely the widespread discrepancy of tax assessments to sales prices across much of the Atlanta metro area, doesn’t seem to shake out for ol’ 30030, according to the AJC’s zip code breakdown.

In fact, while Decatur’s sales value of homes increased nearly 10% from 2007 to 2008, tax assessments in the city went up only 3.6%.  Meanwhile, residents who filed tax returns requested a 19.2% drop in value.

So, according to this AJC analysis (story HERE, cool interactive map HERE), Decatur’s assessments aren’t currently that out of whack.  To see what a real problem looks like, take a gander at South DeKalb, or much of South Fulton, where sales value can be as much as 50% less than the property’s tax assessment.

As for the reason why assessments are so much higher than values, most across the Atlanta metro tax offices were pretty upfront with the AJC.  If assessments truly reflected current costs, local governments would go into a operational tailspin.

Is this reason enough to keep assessments up?  If you’re a city or county government unprepared to deal with massive services cuts or a political leader unwilling to propose a tax increase, probably so.  If you’re a homeowner struggling to make ends meet, probably not.