The City of Decatur, GA is proposing an Annexation. They would like to add parts of unicorporated Dekalb County to their tax base. The problem with that is they are not informing the residents in the proposed areas. There is a public meeting on Monday December 1st, 2008 at City Hall in downtown Decatur at 7:30 p.m. The new City Hall is on McDonough Street across from Chick-Fil-A and next to Eddie's Attic.
Are you in the proposed Annexation area? See Annexation map. If you are in the proposed Areas 1 and 2 at the top of the Map near North Decatur Rd and Scott Blvd, make your voice heard on this Survey and at the December 1st meeting. The State Representative for this area is Mary Margaret Oliver. She needs to know your thoughts on this.
11Alive news came to my subdivision tonight after I contacted them to let them know about the Proposed Annexation plan. We have delivered flyers in the neighborhood to let people know what was going on. Most of the people we spoke to had no idea about it. When I asked the City Manager's office what was being done to notify the people in the proposed Annexation areas, I was told it was on the City's website. People who live in the proposed Annexation areas have very little reason to go to the City's website, they are not even residents of the City of Decatur. Don't get me wrong, I love the City of Decatur. I shop there and go to the restaurants there. I also volunteer my time for the City of Decatur's events. I just think that the City should be doing something to notify the residents whose taxes could double with Annexation. This will create a hardship for many homeowners.
The news story will run on Monday morning December 1, between 5 and 7 a.m, probably closer to 6:30 a.m., but no guarantees on that. I just want the residents in the proposed Annexation areas informed.
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If you are thinking of buying or selling a home, contact local expert Jen Bowman, Realtor with Success Realty serving the real estate needs of Decatur and Atlanta, GA. 404-456-5024. View Intown Living Blog.
So far I've always found that annexation provides better police, firefighting, and other emergency services. I used to be summarily against annexaction because I've always enjoyed living outside of the school tax area since I knew I was never going to have children. However, as more and more of us did that, they started apply the school tax to unincorporated areas. In my older age, now, I don't mind supporting the schooling of the children of others since we need to continue to overpopulate America in order to get larger cities which almost automatically create more "blue areas." Not to mention the fact that we've got to keep up with the Chinese, Japanese, and others if we want to compete financially in a global economy.
Great job informing your neighbors! This is exactly the type of information everyone should have and yet is so hard to keep up with these days. I have cross-posted your blog entry (address below) to my civic information sharing network at Community Radar. This service automatically syndicates top articles (voted by members and most relevant) to area civic and community groups as well as individuals based on zip code. I built this out of my own frustration with the lack of effective communication from government entities in the areas of land use, zoning, schools, and public safety among other critical topics. Thanks for your great community service blogging! -Kim
http://www.communityradar.com/story.php?id=5108
Jen regardless of what side of the issue someone is on this, they should let as many people know about it so that they can make their feelings know. Good job in getting the word out, and congratulations on the interview.
Hi Russel, Dekalb County has great firefighting, police and emergency services. Dekalb has 26 fire stations, 3 within 3 miles of this particular neighborhood and fire hydrants are typically within 300 feet of the homes. Dekalb has more than 143 schools and centers that the residents are already paying taxes for. In May 2006, the Dekalb Fire Department received the Georgia Emergency Medical Services of the Year Award from the Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services. Of all the residents I have spoken to and heard from, they are very satisfied with the services of the County. (By the way, I had some great pumpkin pie the other day! I hope you enjoyed yours!)
Kim, Thank you for following my blog! I appreciate that you are helping to spread the word. Many people in the proposed annexation areas had no idea about this annexation plan.
George, thanks! Like I said, I just want people to be able to make an informed decision. I had a call today from someone considering a move and wanted to know what was going on with the annexation before they made a decision on location. The Annexation plan shouldn't be a secret.