Voters will decide Tuesday if Metro Atlanta's maps will be remade to add the cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker, two municipal governments that would take in more than 100,000 DeKalb County residents.
City supporters say incorporation would bring greater local control of taxpayer money, with voters electing officials who live in their communities and understand their priorities.
Opponents of the cityhood movement argue that adding more government won't solve DeKalb's problems, and they fear that residents could end up having to pay higher taxes and fees.
LaVista Hills and Tucker would become the region's eighth and ninth new cities since Sandy Springs incorporated in 2005. In all, there are 70 cities in the Atlanta area's 10-county region.
LaVista Hills would include more than 67,000 people in an area stretching from outside Emory University to the eastern edge of Interstate 285. Tucker would cover about 33,000 residents, extending eastward from the Perimeter, with some land inside the highway.
Only registered voters who live within the borders of the proposed cities can participate in the referendums.
If approved, LaVista Hills would start its own police force while also taking over road, zoning, permitting and park services from the county. A city of Tucker would have a smaller government that relies on DeKalb police but handles planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks.
The county would continue to provide most of residents’ local government, including public school, water, sewer, court, sheriff and library services.
Other measures on county ballots include a proposal to overhaul the DeKalb Board of Ethics and the election of state legislators, mayors, city council members and school board members.
For more information about voting locations and sample ballots, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's voter guide and dekalbvotes.com.
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