Medlock Still Weighing Options, Says It Will Continue to Fight Decatur Commercial Annexation
Decatur Metro | November 13, 2014 | 9:48 am
The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association has a new post up on its site that provides the final tallies on a recent neighborhood-wide survey regarding annexation. The survey showed that Decatur is the preferred option, but it isn’t shared by a majority of residents. The post calls Decatur’sannexation plan to annex only the commercial areas to the north and east of the city as “unreasonable” and says that MANA will continue to fight it. The DeKalb Tax Commissioner’s Office estimates the tax contribution to the DeKalb County School System of the A and B zones of Decatur’s Master Plan are as follows…
Zone A – $759,816.06 [N Decatur Rd / Clairmont Rd]
Zone B – $4,747,637.06 [Medline LCI, etc.]
The post concludes with this…
- Whatever its source(s), we must fight the pressure to make uninformed decisions. We are still in a position where not enough information is available and must be very careful and measured in our movements: decisions made blindly will cost us dearly.
- MANA recommends that we continue to actively explore all our options. MANA will continue to facilitate meetings, track developments, share information as quickly as possible, and encourage our residents to contact elected officials to ensure our neighborhood’s concerns and wishes are well represented.
The data indicate a 2:1 top preference for joining Decatur over any other option. 3:1 over the next closest annexation decision.
What I can’t figure out about MANA is that they are against a lot of stuff, but I am not clear what they are for. Can anyone enlighten me?
Copied from the MANA post:
“Decatur’s commercial annexation proposal is unreasonable and we will continue to fight it, as we believe North Decatur Road commercial properties should continue to primarily serve the established neighborhoods that they have been part of for so many years.”
How is it that if the businesses become part of CoD, they magically don’t serve the neighborhood? Will there be a sign at Melton’s that says — no proof of CoD residence, no service…
That’s the disconnect I’ve been grappling with as well. Not just with Medlock but with a number of neighborhoods, there’s the suggestion that annexation of adjacent commercial by some other municipality will hit their neighborhood directly; that they will “lose” their commercial. But as you say, all the product and service benefits of the commercial aren’t actually going anywhere.
The reality is that annexed commercial, in this case, defunds the county overall but an argument at that scale lacks the emotional appeal. I’m assuming this is why surrounding neighborhoods are personalizing the impacts, as though they were going to feel them in a way other DeKalb residents would not. Is that the case or am I missing something?
I think it is as simple as the MANA folks trying to force a package deal and get CoD to expand its plan to include them and get the old Medlock school in the process.
Seems likely that Medlock residents are spending more of their own $$ at those commercial properties than are more distant DeKalb residents who shop elsewhere. And that might supply some piece of mind to Medlock, i.e., knowing that portions of their spending are being recycled to DeKalb schools to which they can and do send their kids.
If Decatur annexes those properties, it confiscates that revenue relevant stream, and the taxes funded in part by Medlock resident spending no longer benefit Medlock. The 10 cents (or whatever) they pay for a loaf of bread that once went to DeKalb schools will instead be shipped off to Decatur.
Is there really any dispute here that Decatur’s annexation plan, if executed, makes Medlock somewhat worse off? It may be that Medlock is no worse off than the county generally, but they’re still worse off, it seems to me.
Gotta love the irony of the anti-[residential]annexation crowd, who get so upset at the prospect that a homeowner might get a “windfall” or “something for nothing,” salivating at the city’s attempts to get a windfall or something for nothing.
Pythagoras: You need to re-read your economics textbook. The people in MANA wouldn’t get a bonanza — the people in Decatur would take a hit.
When supply increases, prices go down. If people want to live in Decatur for some specific reason (to get out of DeKalb schools), they go to the cheapest housing. The prices of Decatur homes will decrease because no one will want to pay a premium to live in those homes when they can find a large quantity of cheaper homes.
Both can be true — it’s possible for some Decatur homes to fall a bit in price from a quite high base while newly annexed homes appreciate from a relatively low base.
In any case, your theory may hold some truth — I won’t speculate on real estate prices — but it is contrary to many posts here theorizing that any annexed home will experience a fairly immediate and dramatic increase in value.
Seems pretty clear to me. Decatur wants only the commercial. Medlock believes that if Decatur wants to claim the commercial, they should take residential also. The commercial is Medlock’s bargaining chip to join Decatur.
Except it isn’t a chip at all. Medlock doesn’t control the commercial.
I don’t disagree. I was just trying to articulate Medlock’s argument.
If the ultimate annexation boundary comes down to sponsorship under the Dome, couldn’t the commercial still be an emotional bargaining chip? That would seem to explain why they’re personalizing what are actually county-wide impacts… to empower their advocacy efforts with our Representatives.
This whole incorporation/annexation thing’s ultimately gonna come down to horse trading over boundaries, right?
Good discussion. I’ve wondered about Decatur’s position on this too. I understand why Decatur is only interested in commercial property, but it just seems like such an asinine argument to make. I think the city’s strategic plan identified annexation of commercial property as a goal, but it’s just not realistic without taking responsibility for residential areas as well. You can’t just wish that the county delegation will sponsor a bill that allows Decatur to only annex commercial nodes, but forgo the surrounding residential area. Why would they possibly do that?
I’m certain the city’s elected officials and staff know this, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why they seem to be ignoring this reality with their annexation plans. I think at some point the city is going to have to decide whether to make a play for everything from DeKalb Medical to Medlock Park, or just let it go once and for all.
MANA is not for anything (and I do not speak for them) until the neighborhood knows all their options.
The objection to Decatur annexing commercial is those tax revenues now go to Decatur and its schools, not DeKalb and its schools. While Medlock shops at these stores and deals with the traffic that businesses place on the community, the tax revenues have been ‘confiscated’ by others.
Many in Medlock also worked long and hard on the Medline study for this area. Decatur’s attitude seems to be, “Well, that was nice. We want all that new development too.”
Keep waiting and waiting and the decision is going to be made for them. Any game theory economists who want to lay the choices out for the rest of us laymen?
Plenty of Decatur and other non-MANA folks likely already frequent these commercial businesses, so view your second point as pretty hollow.
I get that they want the school funding for Dekalb instead, but who knows what a clusterf**k unincorporated Dekalb schools are going to be in a few years. If I was them, I’d quit frequenting any commercial establishments and start saving $$ to put my kid in private school…
By the same token Decatur’s residents can spend a lot less on lots of things and accept the tax increase they’re trying to avoid through annexation.
Or we can move out of CoD limits and get worse police response, fire and a dumpster-fire school system… I don’t like being taxed either, but am willing to pay for the benefit I receive for living in our city.
Great, so happily pay more taxes for those services rather than wanting to strip commercial through annexation to keep your taxes from rising.
I don’t see it as all that important if it is Medlock area residents or COD residents or whomever that frequents the proposed annexed areas in whatever numbers. I think when people say we would “lose” the areas to COD they are largely referring to the tax revenue. Our area has done a TON of work over the last several years to fight for sensible revitalization of these commercial zones to make these developments as positive and sustainable as possible while being respectful to the existing community. I haven’t heard of one business in the proposed area that wants to be a part of COD. Many of us in Medlock are happy with our current school setup and working hard to be active and involved in improving the County and schools. Not everyone dreams of joining COD nor will ever be in the position to send our children to private schools. Losing a massive tax base that currently funds our already strapped schools to a small, wealthy enclave with a fraction of the students serviced seems ridiculous.
Why would any business anywhere want to be annexed into the city? They pay more in taxes for little or no added services. That’s why its a fiscal plus for the annexing city. Saying that the businesses don’t want to be included in annexation is a no-brainer.
With respect to Medlock wanting the commercial areas to be attractive and revitalized, there is much greater chance of that happening in Decatur than in unincorporated DeKalb, so from that perspective, MANA should expect to have to fight less to see the proper development in these commercial areas.
My point was that much of this legwork has already been done. Members of our community working in conjunction with folks from the county, developers, and other concerned parties. These things are already underway. Why should we feel confident that COD would have ANY interest in ensuring that these developments in any way benefit our area or are agreeable to our residents? They lie outside what anyone considers the heart of COD and are only being viewed by COD as a revenue stream, not part of a community. It may be obvious to most that businesses don’t want to be a part of the city but part of the reason I mentioned it is that as a whole (residential & commercial) , this community isn’t desperate to join COD.
No offense, but I think you may be overstating the level of cooperation and progress among MANA, developers and the county. Dekalb county will approve almost any sprawlly development that would increase revenues, and Semler and Fuqua take full advantage. DeKalb County has a 1980s Gwinnett mindset. Looking down Scott and Church, I don’t see the progress you claim has been made. Not saying MANA did not get a better result than what was originally planned, but if Suburban Plaza had been in Decatur already, then I doubt there would be a suburban-style strip mall being re-built there.
COD would have every interest in seeing the smart development of the commercial Medlock area in a urban, walkable fashion because the tax revenues would increase for COD if it did so. It’s master plan calls for urban, walkable development.
Have you looked at the Medline LCI?
I’m familiar with the LCI plan and, assuming there’s been no implementation of any key recommendations since June, it currently has one critical limitation: It lacks the force of law.
Yes, it contains plenty of recommendations for zoning overlays and comparable regulatory tools to ensure outcomes but, so far as I know, there’s no effort to do so currently underway. That means landowners, which are primarily large-parcel holders, are still free to sprawl as they choose, with the County’s blessing.
You know what happens when regulations don’t dictate outcomes? Consider the Walmart property on Columbia. Even though it had a specially-applied Mixed Use Center overlay — one that, in the right political environment, could have fostered a solid neighborhood anchor — it was weakly worded and, once Walmart started flexing their muscles, the County folded up like a cheap suit. Or even consider Decatur. Decatur had the Town Center plan from the 80s but all the prescriptions were “recommended” with the assumption that landowners/developers would happily oblige. Then came Selig and, with them, the CVS strip mall. Yes, we coerced some concessions on Selig’s part but the block as a whole could have been so much stronger if there had been proper development regs in place.
All this is to say that, yes, the Medline LCI is a great effort and all should be proud of the plan. But it can’t be tossed around as though it has the power to effect development outcomes. That work — again, so far as I know — is the more difficult political work and is still yet to come. I hope the overlays get created and that they’re well constructed but, until then, the Medlock LCI is a wish list, not a mandate.
(Sorry this is so freakin’ long.)
Obviously you haven’t been in meetings involving the steps MANA took with developers, so you don’t know of which you speak.
And if CoD were such great stewards of development, why the rush now to annex commercial solely for the much needed revenue stream.
Any foresight in CoD leadership would’ve pushed for annexation 5 years ago – which would’ve received little pushback – and CoD could’ve developed the area then.
MedlockMom
Thanks for the thoughtful point(s) of view, much appreciated.
Re the massive tax base implication, hard to forecast what redeveloped tax base might be, but you are right, likely higher. Along those lines, total tax base represented by A+B is about $5 M. I can’t find the most recent Dekalb County budget, but the one from 2012 shows a total tax base of about $430 M, down from $450 in 2011. So, that $5 M represents a little over 1% of the total base if my math is correct…
Brad,
Probably a better comparison would be to look at the number of new students in CSD as a result of annexation. Estimates are that 377 students would come from the annexed area in the first year along with $5.3 million in tax revenue. This is about $14K per student, well over the amount that even CSD spends per pupil. The argument is that the commercial tax revenue is better spent on a larger number of students in DeKalb County rather than the smaller number of students in CSD where per pupil spending is already almost 50% more per student.
MedlockDad
Indeed, I don’t think anyone is arguing that having a good proportion of commercial annexation is beneficial to the city that annexes it.
So far as the best use of the $5 M is concerned — is it better to spend on quality or quantity?
Does one get more benefit from a smaller, focused system or one that handles over 100 K students? Dekalb spends about $7500 per student according to a recent budget (2012, maybe 2013?). Does that $50 per from this tax base have a material impact across the 100,000 students or a material impact across a smaller base (whether the 377 or the entire enrollment in CSD, say 4 K)?
We will have to agree to disagree this time!
I guess that I can understand your sense of entitlement and that you think that a small number of students who are lucky enough to live in Decatur and go to CSD are more deserving than the large number of students who can’t live in Decatur. However, I have a much broader sense of community and I think that those resources are better spent on a greater cross-section of our society.
MedlockMom, I guess the one thing I don’t understand is whether the Medlock Park neighborhood is going to be annexed into a city at all, either now or in the future? I don’t think you’re in the Lakeside or Briarcliff map, but I would guess that eventually your neighborhood would likely join one of the surrounding cities, and that the commercial areas would come with you.
I think in those instances it’s largely a non-issue because, even if the commercial areas get incorporated into one of the new cities, they’ll still be paying into county schools so no significant loss to Medlock, even if they stay unincorporated. Isn’t that the case?
I gotta be honest, and this is a little tin-foil-hat of me, but I don’t think the “no new school districts” portion of the state constitution is much longer for this world. I can easily see the current legislative climate being friendly towards dismantling that, specifically to benefit the new Dekalb/Fulton cities.
Really? I don’t see any chance the legislature will approve new city school districts. Do you seriously think the south DeKalb delegation would be on board? If this issue got real traction you would see more (dare I say it?) racial discourse than we have seen in quite some time. I can see the AJC headline “Local leaders claim race in play over school control”.
I disagree. If for no other reason, the majority of the resources are concentrated in areas which will pursue their own school systems. With those resources comes influence. Besides, in a few years, it will no longer be 1 or 2 new cities pursuing the constitutional amendment. It will be multiple cities representing near half of the constituents.
I guess we will see what the future holds. Wouldn’t this change to the state constitution need to be approved by a statewide vote?
I think a lot of what we are struggling with as a community is that there are far too many unknowns for us to take a strong stance on what we want for our future. I personally would love to stay in Unincorporated Dekalb as it is now as I am really happy with our particular schools and services for the amount of taxes we pay but of course the quickly changing landscape around us is making that seem unlikely as leaving an island of Dekalb Co surrounded by other cities isn’t considered viable by legislature or the County from what I’ve heard.
I know that many neighbors I have spoken to are tremendously uncomfortable with the idea of ditching Dekalb Co altogether, especially what that means for our neighbors in South Dekalb. I thought a lot of what was recommended by Blueprint for Dekalb report were great ways we could work from within to improve where we are now but the cityhood and annexation timelines being pushed now don’t give us any time for those sorts of efforts.
I think the difference in attitude is huge: COD is simply angling for revenues with this cherry picking annexation rather than deal with budget from within its own boundaries. The neighborhoods stuck in the middle of this mess are just trying to sort out what we can do to best preserve our existing communities and I think stripping resources away from us while we try to do that is unfair. We are only talking about joining cities at all because we are being forced by outside pressures.
If we are going to talk about what’s fair, let me throw something in here. DeKalb County’s utter disaster as a governing entity, especially it’s school system, is putting massive budget pressure on Decatur as we take in all the “refugees” who seek a functioning school system and government. It’s not our fault Dekalb is a dumpster fire, but we will pay for it.
Shouldn’t we be allowed to explore options to pay for the additional tax burden caused by the failure of DeKalb County residents to hold their government accountable?
Excellent point.
Utter balderdash. We didn’t elect corrupt officials. The idea that somehow we are responsible for the mess that the school board created while many many people were trying to keep the wheels on the wagon is absurd.
We’re not running a soup kitchen. Those “refugees” are now Decatur residents, and most paid handsomely for their homes. I agree that circumstances outside have made our little haven more attractive, but isn’t that why we chose to live here in the first place? It’s a great community, others have noticed and they’re paying top dollar to join. They’ll also end up paying top dollar in taxes. They’re not exactly freeloaders.
Just to be clear, I lean against annexation. I just tire of seeing complaints about what’s fair.
Here in Decatur we have to spend over $100 million to expand our schools and who knows how much to educate twice as many students as we expected, mainly because DeKalb County’s ELECTED school board is a hot mess and families are seeking higher ground in our well run city. So please excuse us if we look for solutions to pay for this.
I’ve got a T-shirt for you: “I moved to Decatur in 2002 and I’ll I got to show for it is this lousy $100k in extra home equity”. You want to whine about the “hardship” and influx of new residents is causing you without discussing the benefits you are reaping from it as well? I’d also dispute the fact that most of these folks are “refugees” from Dekalb. Many of the younger set probably didn’t even have kids when Dekalb’s issues surfaced. There is probably just as many people selecting Decatur over Roswell as there is crossing the moats into your precious kingdom from Dekalb.
I’m not whining. I don’t really care for the “fairness” argument, especially among grown ups who should know life isn’t fair. Just playing the devil’s advocate against the folks who think Decatur is the bad actor here.
It’s not about fairness. It’s about CoD cherry-picking because you lack the revenue for your precious overcrowded schools. Sort your mess by tightening CoD budgets or pay more taxes.
+1.
Agreed, it’s not about fairness, and I’d prefer we raise taxes rather than annex non-walkable suburban areas. But I don’t blame city leadership for exploring other options, that’s their job – and they do an exponentially better job than any other municipality around here.
What this doesn’t show is that the first part of the survey was referendum-style questions of whether people would vote for or against certain options.
64% said they’d vote FOR the proposed city of Briarcliff. 63% said they’d vote for annexation to Decatur.
The graph on this story only shows part of the story.
Wow Area A adds a ton of residential units and burden on the schools with increased enrollment for a paltry tax revenue to the schools if these figures are accurate. It appears all Area A offers is potentially cheaper land to build another school. This seems like a poor trade off to me.
Anyone who wants Decatur schools and services is welcome to move into Decatur city limits.
Annexation is too much a lottery ticket mentality. Some win some don’t.
Now I question the decision making and reasoning of the commissioners even more. Don’t be big just to be big. Who cares about being boxed in. Just build up, maybe we have multiple floors on a school. Walking is good for kids.
Will Decatur even get these areas they want or could they be annexed by someone else?
Just have to note that the revenue figures given here are based on current tax contributions. A bulk of the areas COD have in their annexation plans are slated for major redevelopment over the next few years so these figures will increase tremendously. The loss in tax revenue to the county and therefore our Unincorporated Dekalb (Decaturites read:plebes) tax base is indeed a loss for our area and a gain for COD with relatively little added burden since they have of course left off as much residential as possible.
Multiple floors creates ADA compliance issues – I know for a fact that there are children in CSD who have mobility issues (wheelchairs, walkers, etc.) that would require appropriately-sized elevators, accessible restrooms, etc.
Something to consider when you propose a four-story high school.
We have multiple 3 story schools that are ADA compliant. Does something change or become more complicated when you make the jump to four floors? I’ve never heard that.
Nah, four was just a number I pulled out of my ear. I was mostly pointing out that building up has certain costs, uh, built in.
If MANA is truly upset about losing county revenues, then it would oppose all annexation, not just Decatur’s annexation because all the county revenues are divided equally, not retained provincially.
Yet, 64% of MANA residents have voted that they approve annexation into Briarcliff or Lakeside. However, this is not an option without the commercial property to go along with it. A great majority would be happy for the city to annex the commercial areas if the residential is taken too. So, MANA folks would be happy depriving the county of the revenue as long as they get to enjoy the spoils. How is this so different from COD’s annexation attitude?
The new cities are still in the DeKalb school system. City taxes would still go to the schools.
Only for now. Once those cities stop fighting each other over boundaries, they will combine forces and their significant resources to seek to have the state constitution amended to allow more school systems. It is scary to think what is going to happen to south DeKalb when all of the more affluent areas lie within incorporated cities with their own school systems.
This has been talked about for 20+ years, starting with North Fulton (Alpharetta, etc.) wanting to split from South Fulton (and vice versa well before that). The big difference now is that I think there is the political capability to make it happen. If cities’ ability to open their own schools becomes a reality it will drastically alter the landscape. I know this is an obvious statement, but there you have it.
It’s the new white flight, basically. Since we can’t legally segregate anymore, and since there’s nowhere left to move away from Them, let’s just secede and form our own cities where we don’t have to pay for Them.
Is it possible that people are seeking to have a functioning government and school system? Or are all white people automatically just flaming racists for everything they do?
Yes.
Well, it’s more about The Poors than The Blacks these days – it just so happens that in Dekalb, many of The Poors are also black.
Uh, “Them” are busy creating new cities in their areas. Please look up Stonecrest and the City of South DeKalb. It’s not a black/white thing, folks – it’s a REGIONAL thing!
I mean, I’m sorry, but I just have to call BS on this “regional” idea. The history of Marta trying to go get North speaks for itself.
However I’m definitely giving you points that you forced me to Google the Stonecrest and South Dekalb cityhood movements. I didn’t really read anything that convinced me that this area could financially support the idea. But it looks like they hold regular meetings, and like everyone else they are facing the new realties of cityhood around them. There are some very wealthy residents in South DeKalb, quite a few gated neighborhoods and mansions, but nothing like North Dekalb. Can they support a police force for 300,000 people in S. Dekalb? That alone is quite a task, it’s a large swath.
My opinions on this matter have evolved, and still are evolving, so if you have any more information on this I’m absolutely willing to listen.
Frankly I’m of 2 minds here. If S. Dekalb wants Vernon Jones, then they should have him. However, I’m concerned about what a cityhood movement means to the children of S. Dekalb. I can’t ignore the fact, that every child has the right to a good education, and as a citizen of humanity, regardless of where I live, I believe that doing anything to impede that, is straight up wrong, no matter what I think of their parents. Besides, if Dekalb implodes now, or 10 years from now, we will all pay the price one way or another, thinking in terms of an increase in crime like we’ve never experienced.
People used to talk about the unrest that would follow “rising expectations”. I’ve been wondering if we’ll soon see unrest in the world following declining expectations.
Its more likely that these cities would band together to form clusters that go to certain schools in the current system or a charter system. It’s one thing to form a city, its another to form a school system.
I think City of Atlanta will become what Decatur has become and its schools will be very good in 10-20 years. I worry that South Dekalb will become a failed state. At the end of the day, the folks of S. Dekalb are mostly responsible for supplying the votes for the CEO, the School Board and the the corrupt, short-signted leadership. Its a shame.
Classic example of “elections have consequences”. The very reason we left unincorporated AE & now live in COD. S. DeKalb is a dumpster fire; run away, fast.
This is coming, and I expect Brookhaven to lead the charge.
I don’t see this happening while my children (ages elementary school to not born yet) are in school. I’d be glad to be wrong about this.
It’s pretty funny to me when people argue that adding Medlock residential would water down Decatur’s brand. Medlock has its own brand and the people who live here love it fiercely. Nobody’s looking to win the lottery with home values (most of us would be happy to not lose value) and the tax revenues are not “spoils” to us. They are already used to fund our schools and the impact of losing those funds is not neutral. We’re trying to make the best of a situation that we didn’t ask for, and trying not get screwed in the process.
what poplar said! in wayyyy less words than i.
Thank you Poplar.
Crass as it sounds, it is a fact that the commercial areas are necessary for Medlock and Clairmont Heights (there are a LOT of us who don’t want to be annexed by Atlanta) to be at all attractive to any possible municipality.
The Briarcliff study was done assuming that the commercial areas along N. Decatur Rd and Scott Blvd/Lawrenceville Hwy would be part of the city. It also assumed Toco Hill and the commercial property on N Druid Hills Rd would be included.
With Brookhaven attempting to annex Executive Park, CHOA, Loeheman’s, Target and the DeKalb School System properties on N Druid Hills Rd, and Decatur attempting to annex the commercial property in its map, there is little to nothing left for any new city. Dicey as it is, the one thing the new city would offer us is the ability to keep our neighborhood school cluster together. I know that CoD residents are proud of their schools (as they have every right to be). We are also proud of the cluster of five elementary schools, a middle school and a high school that we currently have, and we have put a great deal of effort into improving them.
Medlock residents bought their houses with the understanding that they were part of Dekalb County. I don’t think anyone purchased a home in the neighborhood hoping to become part of Decatur one day. What residents didn’t expect, however, is the possibility that their high school and/or revenue for their schools would be taken away. If we imagined Decatur and Medlock as two children, and we took a toy from Medlock and gave it to Decatur, it wouldn’t seem fair. However, if Medlock kept her toys and Decatur kept his, I don’t think anyone would complain.
But the party taking the toy away is really Druid Hills, which wants to leave and take the schools with it to Atlanta. It’s not really Decatur. The businesses are still there, and the development will probably be improved. The overall fiscal impact of the parcels Decatur is annexing is very small.
I understand that Medlock residents are mad and feel betrayed. I would feel the same. But I think that Decatur has become a focal point of the anger because it has said it doesn’t want to annex the Medlock homes.
The anxiety about the school district has morphed into metaphors about Decatur taking toys from children and ruining the Dekalb schools. It’s a little overblown. I feel Medlock will be annexed by Briarcliff, and if that happens, it will still have the school issue if Druid Hills leaves.
It’s an oversimplification to say “the businesses will probably be improved.” The businesses will certainly be improved. Suburban Plaza is a pile of rubble right now and in 1-2 years it is likely that it will be a very busy and profitable shopping center. (Remember all that projected traffic, one of the reasons people were so against that re-development in the first place?) Scott Blvd Baptist Church is sitting empty and it and the surrounding streets will soon be a mixed usage Fuqua development. The car dealerships, etc etc are all in the pipeline for redevelopment per the Medline LCI, and MANA has been right there all along advocating for the best zoning to make the area both profitable and a complement to the surrounding residential areas. If “the overall fiscal impact of the parcels Decatur [wants to] annex[…]” is small, then Decatur should have no problem backing off from their intentions.
I agree that the schools are a huge issue, and Medlock is fighting that battle as well. I do not agree, however, that many of the Medlock residents are angry that they are not being annexed. The survey showed that many residents would like to be annexed, but they also understand why it’s not a good option for Decatur. I don’t think MANA is fighting to be annexed as much as they are fighting to keep Decatur from taking commercial properties that have always been considered part of the Medlock community (is anyone going to argue that Melton’s is more part of the Decatur community than the Medlock community or that Decatur fought harder with Selig re:zoning issues for Suburban Plaza?). Hasn’t the revenue from the commercial properties always gone to Dekalb Schools? How is it fair -no matter the amount- to take that money away from those schools? Even if Fernbank and DHHS go to Atlanta, there are still great schools like Laurel Ridge remaining in the county.
As I mostly watch this conversation since everyone else seems to know so much more than I do about it, I’m realizing that it’s not just about annexation but also about whether new cities will be able to pull out of DeKalb County Schools and form their own school systems and ultimately about whether DeKalb County will collapse altogether or become a “failed state”. Question: How will the DeKalb County collapse or failure to operate affect those of us who reside in the City of Decatur? Don’t we depend on DeKalb County for a fair number of services, e.g. water/sewer, county roads, property appraisal, animal services, public health, restaurant inspections, court system, jail, child protective services, libraries, flood control, etc.? What would happen if the City had to absorb all those activities because the County couldn’t or wouldn’t do them well anymore for a northern patchwork of independent cities?
AHID, this one is easy to answer because it already happened in Fulton a decade ago. Fulton county didn’t become a “failed state”, but they have had to find ways to run a tighter ship. Fulton implemented a hiring freeze on new positions and basically stopped giving their employees raises until this year. They still provide all of the services you mentioned even though they are only responsible for the municipal services (traffic, police, zoning, etc.) in a couple of areas in south Fulton.
In a strange way I think it’s almost been a positive experience because many in management there are now so used to trying to streamline operations and save money that it’s become a habit. Nobody wants to get called into the County Manager’s office or go in front of the commission and get raked over the coals for running a loose operation. This streamlining has been uneven across departments but it is noticeable.
When you pay your tax bill you’ll notice that some of the services you mentioned even have their own line items. Water/sewer usually run like private businesses inside the county and generally have their own funds provided by water/sewer bills. They usually have a lot of nice new toys, so don’t feel too bad for them.
It all really comes down to the citizen feeling a benefit or value where city/county services “duplicate”. Will my local city police respond better than the county police? Will my city zoning folks be more responsive to local desires than county officials? A lot of times the answer to this is yes and people are willing to pay a little more in taxes to make it happen.