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Now that voters have made Dunwoody DeKalb County's ninth incorporated city, efforts to build a municipal government and have it in place by Dec. 1 are moving ahead. Here are five things to know about the new city and its prospects:

1. There seems to be considerable interest in serving on the first City Council, or being the first mayor.

On Saturday, residents considering running for office in Dunwoody were invited to an informational forum, where they were told of the costs to run a campaign, the time commitment required of an elected official, and the compensation for the job. There was no shortage of hopefuls; 29 people who attended identified themselves as potential candidates. They did not have to declare whether they are interested in a City Council seat or the mayor's office.

2. An election runoff appears quite possible.

The six City Council jobs and the mayor's post are up for grabs on Sept. 16. But if there is a large field of strong candidates, it's possible, even probable, that not every position will be decided that night. If no candidate claims 51 percent of the votes in a race, the top two vote-getters will take part in a runoff election on Oct. 14. Mark that on your calendar.

3. Dunwoody has learned from other municipal newborns.

One advantage Dunwoody has had is that the city's orchestrators could watch and learn from what's gone on in the new Fulton County cities of Sandy Springs, Milton and Johns Creek. Oliver Porter, who helped build those cities and now is a consultant on Dunwoody's development, points out that Dunwoody is getting a head start on forming its government. Not only are task forces finalizing governmental operations recommendations for elected officials, but officials will be in place and able to act as soon as they are elected —- two or three months before the Dec. 1 official launch of the government.

4. It won't take a lot (of people) to get elected.

Dunwoody may be a community of active and interested residents, but a small number will likely elect the city's first officials. City proponents note that in recent years only 9 percent to 16 percent of eligible voters turned out for special elections like the one coming Sept. 16. Given the number of registered voters in Dunwoody, that means a candidate for citywide office (including mayor and three at-large council positions) could win with just over 1,000 votes, while a person running for a district council office could claim victory with about 400. As they say, every vote counts.

5. When it comes to the top election issues, it will probably be business as usual.

At the Saturday candidate forum, hopefuls were handed a packet of information. One page listed the "likely issues" in the upcoming races. Among them: Position on spending and taxes; public/private partnership for city government; development of facilities at Liane Levetan Park at Brook Run; long-term growth plan for the community; reserves for future replacement of infrastructure; importance of maintenance; police; traffic control; code enforcement; and zoning. No real surprises there.