Bloated? arguably.

It seems like there are several issues at work here.
First, this is a legislative annexation – the majority of the property owners do NOT want to be annexed-So, in effect, it is being forced on them. It will cost the owners additional property tax, impose a tighter zoning restrictions and subject them to an additional layer of red tape. As to benefits, the deal is a bit light in that dept., other than everyone that supports the effort is saying how wonderful it is to be part of AE.

Revenue for Avondale – The property taxes the owners will have to pay are around an additional 15-20% on top of what the property owners are already paying. THe AE Mayor says the additional $32K in Property Tax revenue is not why they are doing it. If you look a bit closer your will see they AE stands to make an additional, roughly, $300K off of revenues on the power poles, phone lines etc.
And traffic citations will add another $200K to their coffers …. Getting the picture here.
The whole beautification argument is not even secondary, but since it is bandied around lets look at it.

OK, we agree it is a ratty looking 2/10s of a mile (I will only suggest that AE downtown is shabby at best) How much time and money has been spent by both sides on this issue to date. If a portion of that time and money went into sprucing it up, it would be done by now.
That area is zoned M1 heavy industrial and has been since zoning was imposed originally. To arbitrarily say OK, we (the collective we) don’t want it to be that zoning anymore kinda bypasses the rule of law …… and, it seems to me, does tread on private property rights a bit.

Crime? The Mayor of AE was saying that area is high in crime. The numbers given were subjected to a fair amount of spin.
1. The area the numbers are drawn from is way larger than the area proposed for annexation
2. When that area is separated out for the period measured ( Nov & Dec 09) there were only 2 crimes. AE in that same period had 16 crimes.
3. The numbers were quoted from Crimewatch.com, a good site. Log on enter a zip code and it will give the reported crimes in that area …….. OK, except AE does not report to crimewatch.com. So AE looks spanking clean when you look at that zip. If you go to AE’s website you can pull the crime stats there. Also, it is important to look at the types of crimes. Obviously, rape murder armed robbery etc are to be avoided. Theft by Taking is another matter entirely. check it out and see if the issue is actually an issue.

Why not have someone of start a dialogue (defined as the exchange of ideas) about how to improve the look of that strip.
Bring the County, the City of AE and the property owners and tenants together and look for solutions.
And, most importantly remember, anytime a politician say we have to look for additional revenue sources, they are talking about you. If you are earning money and or using any services (cell phone, Cable, DSL, Electricity, Gas etc) than you are and will always be the revenue source. Period. Taxing business or Corporations, you think they don’t pass that right on to you? The taxes on your phone and cable bill? Passed right on to you.
AE will not magically make all that additional revenue, a portion of it will come out of Dekalb County “revenue”, how do you suppose they will make up the difference? Hmmmmmm

There are 5 ways that property can be annexed. The way that the property is being annexed in Avondale Estates is that of a legislative nature. All you need is the Representative for the area, to introduce it to the House and then it moves from their.

In a nut shell, involuntary anything when it comes to property rights is a bad thing, today it those owners, tomorrow it could be you.

How can Avondale Estates complain about the so-called blighted area! There are some really pretty buildings in their jurisdiction–not. If beauty is the goal, why hasn’t a “beautification” committee worked on this with the property owners. I believe I read some where that annexation wasn’t really at the top of Avondale’s list until the City of Decatur was interested. Hmm.

If you don’t stand up for what is yours it will slowly be taken away. Wake up people, this affects us all. Involuntary anything is not a good thing!!!!!

That’s right – Lake. Part of the system of large and small “pocket” parks that are part of the original historic design of Avondale Estates, and which are all maintained by our Public Works Department. It is actually pretty amazing what our City can do with the tiny tax base it has!