Decatur Annexation Master Plan Approved By Commission, School Board Votes Tomorrow Morning
Decatur Metro | December 16, 2014 | 4:09 pm
As you’ve probably already read here in the comments or elsewhere here or here, last night’s Decatur City Commission meeting, the commission unanimously approved the annexation master plan with only small tweaks to the map.
The tweaks included removing a small area of the east side of Jordan Lane northeast of the city in Area B – due to “service delivery issues” – and properties along East Lake Drive in Area A with an Atlanta address.
Moving forward is contingent on receiving formal support from the school board, which has scheduled a 7:30a meeting tomorrow morning to vote on whether to support the master plan.
If the school board approves, then at the beginning of next year, the city would work to find a sponsor in the state legislature. If the legislature decides to take up Decatur’s annexation plan – not to mention all the other potential DeKalb city creations and annexations – and voted in its favor, it would then sent back to residents in the annex areas for a vote. If a majority of property owners approve, then formal annexation would occur on Jan. 1, 2016.
So, it goes without saying that many stars will need to align for this annexation to actually occur.
If the annexation happens in its approved form, Decatur would go from having an 85%/15% residential/commercial split to a 76%/24% split, according to City Manager Peggy Merriss. As someone who’s been writing about this issue since 2007, this has long been the rationale given by the city for annexation – to help keep residential taxes down. The November school board study reiterated this stating that without annexation, the school board would be forced to raise the tax millage rate due to these increased enrollment levels. Decatur’s current 85/15 residential/commercial split puts a heavier tax burden on residents than a large majority of other Georgia cities.
During the meeting, the commission responded to restated concerns from the community about the impact of adding additional students to an already crowded school system, citing the school board’s recently commissioned study that showed the majority of student growth will occur within the current city limits.
this has long been the rationale given by the city for annexation – to help keep residential taxes down——How when they are proposing more bonds to pay for more schools, fire stations, etc. A bigger house cost more not less. If the city wants to lessen the tax burden then look to new ways to deliver services. What do we want to keep the school system or public safety? The school system in my opinion is the defining element of Decatur. Contract or merge the public safety system with the county’s public safety.
I strongly disagree. The county public safety isn’t as responsive as the one in Decatur. I own property just outside the city of Decatur and the difference between the two police departments is striking. I’ll gladly pay for safety and security. Who with children would opt for a less safe community?
I agree with Jo
The city can collect more money right now if they take a look at the assessment values for the new and remodeled homes, which are paying less than 50% of their actual value.
@ Diane Loupe, What safety or security are you referring to?
We have drugs at our kid’s parks (winnona and McKoy)
Express home break-ins
Mugging
Car break-ins
and lastly a murder
The only place you’ll see a police officer is in the downtown area or on college ave addressing speeders. It’s a yearlong holiday for criminals in COD and they know it.
A $800K home has nicer things than a $75K home.
I am not saying our police officers are not doing their job; we need more of them and a better strategy for address crime.
The annex of commercial property will only give a short term fix for 2 years. The taxes will go up again for house holds by which of property values or the tax index for more revenue to cover all the new burdens (safety and kids).
There is never a win against taxes. The HOUSE (Government) always wins.
It’s your government and you get things for paying taxes. I think most local governments do a pretty good job of keeping taxes consistent (tough decisions during the heart of the recession notwithstanding). It is not easy to balance a budget year over year without millage increases, much less forecast what will be needed in 3-5 years with the same revenue while navigating the uncertainty of new cities impacting future growth. I do not envy city leaders but I applaud their willingness to think ahead and work with all the uncertainties swirling about.
Taxes will always go up over time because (1) costs increase (just like everything else that takes money to operate), (2) because other revenues decrease/go away or, (3) because of some new mandate requiring action. Most often those last two are the product of your state legislature passing new laws or unfunded mandates. Those mandates come from people who successfully lobby lawmakers to create new laws. There is no conspiracy to take your money. But there may be people outworking you to realize their political priorities which may conflict with your priorities. That is not their problem.
If you didn’t notice, Decatur just increased the homestead exemptions. That’s the house trying to take less of your chips next year.
Among my Christmas wishes this year: I wish I had written this.
And among my New Year’s resolutions: To steal from it liberally in any efforts to inject level-headedness into the reigning Chicken Little narrative.
My New Year’s resolution is to get that damn moat built.
Mine’s easier.
You sure about that? All I theoretically have to do is give all the Chicken Littles around here a shovel and a hose!
I think J_T might win this one. Think of all of the adult Chicken Littles and all of their Baby Chicken Littles helping. The moat could be completed before kids come back from Christmas break.
Seems to me that there’s Chicken Littles on all sides. If we don’t annex then all those new cities will land grab…, then taxes…, then we’ve missed our chance…. If we do annex, then apartments will have kids…, then schools…, then enrollment…., then we lose our character….. Maybe by triangulation a sensible narrative can emerge.
New Decatur: Local Food, Craft Brews & Little Chickadoos!
I pay school taxes and I don’t have kids in CSD. I’m glad to do it because I get benefits from owning a home in an area with quality schools. But there will be a point where the costs outweigh that benefit for me. There are a lot of people in this town that pay school taxes with no school kids. The school angle is important, but it isn’t the only driver of the annexation movement.
What I’m trying to discern is whether annexation is really going to provide a long-term benefit. It sounds like our Commissioners and School Board members all think so although the latter have more reservations and are real worried about a disastrous immediate impact on students if better planning isn’t put into place first. My averse-to-change side keeps wondering how secure we are in predictions of a long-term benefit because annexation cannot be undone. I keep thinking to the negative impact on Downtown Decatur from urban renewal and MARTA in the past. Those were shiny new ideas at the time. They took decades to undo and much was lost. On the other hand, I’d hate to see us just move around deck chairs on the Titanic if annexation is the only way out of future financial disaster….
You’ve said what so many of us childfree householders think. Thank you!
“They took decades to undo and much was lost.”
How were they undone? Overcame, maybe. The renewal of Downtown Decatur, including MARTA, has led to one of the most thriving downtowns in the region.
You’re speaking of the latest renewal of Downtown which was necessary to overcome the almost death of Downtown in the ?60s/70s? The first time I encountered Downtown Decatur, around 1985, there was very little going on compared to now. I wasn’t living here for all of the revival of Downtown but my understanding is that it took careful strategic planning and follow-through to undo the damage. The problem with MARTA wasn’t that it came to Decatur, but how it came to Decatur–my understanding is that the Square was disrupted as a Center of town for years.
I think that may be a reference to older/historic buildings that were lost with the county complex and other office buildings that resulted in an abundance of off-street parking lots. But I wasn’t around then. I dunno.
That gets me thinking off topic: the current MARTA plaza was redeveloped recently (like in the last 20 years), right? But the station was there before then. What did it look like before?
It wasn’t redeveloped so much as remodeled. The changes were largely cosmetic. The station entrance, which was previously a hulking, Logan’s Run looking thing, was made compatible with surrounding storefronts while, up too, the opened up the sight lines and changed the plaza material.
There was a more substantive overhaul in 96ish when they built the new bus depot, which changed the station configuration and got a lot of 70s era Marta rain canopies removed.
My memory is fuzzy, but the main thing I remember about the old station is that the bus stops were on the other side, where Cakes and Ale is now. As a teenager, I would grab something to eat or drink in Sensational Subs (which I think was the last “old’ business on the square to close) while waiting for my bus home. This would have been the early 80s.
Decaturish is reporting the School Board approved the annexation resolution. Anybody know how many citizens showed up and said anything?