Welcome to the city of Buckhead.

That's the greeting some envision for the affluent north Atlanta community.

The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation has mailed a glossy four-page newsletter to about 50,000 households in the area, pushing to secede from Atlanta and make Buckhead its own city.

Supporters point to the city government's budget problems and school property tax rates and say the proposed city of Buckhead would better manage their tax dollars. Opponents fear the move would financially devastate Atlanta, which is currently struggling with a staggering budget shortfall.

"We're Atlanta's version of the Boston Tea Party," said Glenn Delk, a Buckhead resident and attorney who wrote much of the newsletter. "It's the only way [city leaders] will listen to us."

Several Buckhead leaders quickly denounced the idea Friday, saying it would drastically hurt the ability of Atlanta's government and schools to operate.

The foundation did not have specific boundaries for the proposed city. Buckhead is generally described as the area east and west of Peachtree Street, between Midtown and Brookhaven.

Buckhead represents about 45 percent of Atlanta's property and sales tax base, community leaders say. Buckhead properties in Atlanta were assessed this year at about $72.4 billion, according to Fulton County officials.

Buckhead is considered home to many of Atlanta's largest office buildings, some of its most expensive homes and two of the region's haute shopping malls: Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza.

"It will bankrupt Atlanta," said Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition, a business and community group, and a former Atlanta mayor.

Massell and others say talk of creating a city of Buckhead is not a new idea — it is usually discussed around the water cooler but never as an organized effort.

"It was a difficult decision to make, but the financial mismanagement of the city left us no choice," said John Sherman, the foundation's president.

Atlanta government has a $60 million budget deficit in its current fiscal cycle and is grappling with a projected shortfall of about $140 million for the fiscal year starting July 1.

City officials blame the problems on the sluggish economy and higher pension, health care and fuel costs. They also admit some budgeting errors and poor long-standing practices contributed to the problems.

Scotty Greene, executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District, a group that taxes itself to fund roads and other projects in the area, agrees there is widespread frustration about Atlanta's finances. However, Greene argues the best approach is to work with city government, not leave it.

"Why would anybody want to rend the fabric of a great international city?" said Greene, whose membership includes about 300 commercial property owners.

Buckhead cityhood supporters are basing their campaign off the successful efforts in recent years of north Fulton County communities such as Johns Creek, Milton and Sandy Springs to create their own cities.

DeKalb County voters will decide the fate of a proposal to incorporate the north DeKalb community of Dunwoody as a separate city in a July 15 referendum.

Supporters say cityhood would allow Buckhead homeowners to pay about 60 percent less a year in property taxes. They base the estimate on the average property tax rate of the new Fulton County cities, all lower than Atlanta's.

They also contend that homeowners would no longer pay property taxes to support the city's school system.

The supporters envision a city of about 85,000 residents, with children educated in private schools or new charter schools. The city government could be run by a company, they say. Milton and Johns Creek are managed by the consulting firm, CH2M Hill.

Creating a city called Buckhead won't be easy. First, the Georgia Legislature must approve Buckhead deannexing from Atlanta. Then, state lawmakers must approve the new city. A majority of Atlanta voters would likely be asked in a referendum to approve Buckhead cityhood. Critics suggest such a vote could be a racially divisive battle since most of Buckhead's population is white and about 56 percent of Atlanta's residents are African-American.

"I'm going to listen to [the foundation]," said state Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta), who lives in Buckhead. "But I am going to talk to them about the practical difficulties of getting this passed."

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was unavailable for comment Friday. Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall was surprised by the suggestion that Buckhead could leave the Atlanta system, noting school officials are having to create more classroom space to meet the rising enrollment in the area. Buckhead schools, she said in a statement, are some of the best in Georgia.

Howard Shook, an Atlanta councilman who represents Buckhead, called the challenges to creating a municipality "insurmountable."

Sherman said he is trying to gather 5,000 signatures to a petition supporting the plan.

The foundation will also raise money for attorney fees, consultants and a feasibility study.

There is one other problem. About 60 miles east of Atlanta, in Morgan County, is the town of Buckhead, population 222.

"You wouldn't have that cache," said Massell, saying Atlanta's Buckhead must change its name if it became a city.

"I'd hate to see that," said Sherman, unaware of the other Buckhead's existence.