For months, the campaign to make Dunwoody a city has sailed along with relatively little vocal opposition. Public forums were dominated by audiences and speakers touting the benefits of incorporation. Yard signs and bumper stickers urged a "yes" vote on the July 15 referendum. Even the north DeKalb County community's Fourth of July Parade featured a pro-cityhood group.

On Monday, some prominent opposition surfaced when the board of directors of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, a countywide business group, announced it would oppose the Dunwoody referendum on next Tuesday's special election ballot.

"A City of Dunwoody," the chamber said in a statement, "would have a profoundly negative impact on the business community."

The chamber questioned the proposed city budget for Dunwoody and expressed fear of higher taxes and fees on business. Supporters of the cityhood referendum have tried to quell such concerns, saying city leaders would understand the value and needs of businesses.

The chamber previously had been neutral on the cityhood vote and served as a co-sponsor with the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County of a debate on referendum issues.

Chamber president Leonardo McClarty said directors determined that "the business community is looking to the Chamber to speak on their behalf."

While taking the stand comes late, McClarty said, "We wanted to do proper due diligence." If nothing else, he said, "We hope people will take a second look and maybe not be so caught up in the emotion behind" the cityhood drive.

Cityhood boosters dismissed the reasons the chamber gave for its position, as well as its potential clout.

"It's no surprise, but it is disappointing," said Rob Augustine, a member of Dunwoody Yes, a political action group promoting cityhood. Augustine branded the chamber's explanations for its position "ludicrous." But he said he expected the "no" position to be popular with DeKalb County officials, who see Dunwoody incorporation resulting in lost revenue.

The chamber said it has "significant reservations about the projected revenues and expenses that have been presented thus far" for a city of Dunwoody.

Those figures, contained in a study conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, have been cited by the Citizens for Dunwoody Inc., among other groups, when discussing the impact of incorporation.

Specifically, the chamber questioned the fate of $1.4 million in homestead option sales tax revenues.

City supporters have downplayed the concerns and said those revenues would not be used for municipal operations.

Also, the chamber said, "The critical issues of public safety expenditures and parks and recreation acquisition costs are major concerns." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that the projected Dunwoody police force would be considerably smaller, per capita, than those of other DeKalb cities. Expanding the department would significantly increase the proposed budget.

The chamber noted its concern over taxes.

"Most importantly," it said, the city charter allows the council "to levy and collect such other taxes and fees as may be allowed now or in the future by law. This leads one to question what those allowable taxes and fees might be and who would be responsible for paying them."

Augustine called the language in the charter "boilerplate" or "generic empowerment" of a city.

The chamber said it is concerned that "any shortfall may come at the expense of business through the paying of higher fees and assessments."

McClarty noted that commercial property owners in the area already assess themselves an extra 4 mills for being inside the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts. He asked how much more they could bear.

The most outspoken opponent of cityhood, state Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta), said, "They know that business is going to have to pay the bulk of the bills."

Augustine said opponents are trying to "confuse people and to make it seem like this is an impending disaster if we incorporate."