Dunwoody up and running on first day as city

Dunwoody got down to business, literally, on Monday, its first day as Georgia’s newest city.

It was a no-frills start-up with little fanfare beyond a wee-hours ribbon-cutting. Instead, the day was about tending to the details of running a city.

Mayor Ken Wright said people had been working so hard to gear up for cityhood that Monday, while historic, “was just like any other day.”

Phone lines were up at

7:30 a.m., and the doors of the temporary City Hall — in neighboring Sandy Springs — opened at 8 a.m. The first recorded visitor was a guy who installed a copy machine.

By 10 a.m., City Manager Warren Hutmacher was leading a staff meeting with department heads.

The public works department had already gotten its first two calls, both about that most essential of local services: trash collection. One person wanted to report a leaking garbage truck and another wanted to know who was going to collect the trash.

The answer: the same people as last week.

The fledgling city is still relying on DeKalb County to provide that and other key services, such as police protection.

The only celebratory note, the ribbon-cutting, came just after midnight between two city council meetings — one at 11:15 p.m. Sunday to take care of current business and the other around 12:45 a.m. Monday to formalize ordinances that had been passed before the city went live.

“This is the end and a new beginning,” Wright told the hardy souls who came out in the cold for the ceremony.

Much remains to be done. City leaders have yet to decide how to offer some services. They have until Dec. 31 to finalize negotiations with the county, since Dunwoody residents had already paid for a full year of county services through their tax bills.

One major announcement came Monday when Marietta deputy police chief William Grogan was named as sole finalist to become Dunwoody’s first police chief. The city’s police force is scheduled to begin patrols in April. DeKalb County police will continue working in Dunwoody at least through December.

City Council member Denis Shortal was at City Hall at 7:15 a.m. Monday to watch it all unfold. “For the first day, I think you couldn’t have drawn it up any better, ” he said.

If you’ve got a problem to report or a question to ask, you can visit Dunwoody City Hall in its temporary location on the 12th floor of 400 Northridge Road in Sandy Springs. You can also call 678-382-6700 or visit online at www.dunwoodyga.gov.