Decatur recently annexed 12 properties that had been partly in DeKalb County and partly in the city. Annexation was achieved through resident petition and subsequently approved by the city commission.

Residents complained about the complexities of living on a bisected property, including getting multiple tax bills, irregular trash pickup, confusion over whether county or city police take emergency calls and inability to vote on Decatur-related items in various elections.

The properties officially become part of Decatur in their entirety on Dec. 28.

City Manager Peggy Merriss said there are still a few bisected properties remaining, but the city probably won’t accept annexation petitions from homeowners again for “another couple, three years.”

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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