A vote on Brookhaven should be postponed until a study can show what effect creating another city would have on unincorporated DeKalb, the County Commission agreed Tuesday.
That request is among a handful of items the commission said it wants from the Legislature when it convenes in January. The worry is money, as well as the continued relevance of the county government.
Fulton saw its tax base shrivel as four new cities popped up in just a few years and has since been under constant call to radically reduce its county government.
Dunwoody has been the only new city to emerge in DeKalb. Its existence has cost the county about $18 million a year in lost tax revenue. Creating a city of Brookhaven, which would be slightly larger than Dunwoody, could cost the county about the same.
“We need to put on the table the fiscal impact not just on a new city but also what happens to the rest of the county after the erosion of its tax base,” said Commissioner Jeff Rader, who pushed for the county’s request that the Legislature set up a study committee on the issue.
He argues a third-party study from a university or nonprofit would provide more information for all cityhood efforts. Brookhaven is not singled out in the request.
However, the County Commission stalling incorporation votes until 2013 -- and also calling for no municipal annexations until then -- has angered supporters of carving a Brookhaven city of 50,000 out of north-central DeKalb.
A University of Georgia study released last week showed a city of Brookhaven, stretching from Dunwoody to I-85, would be feasible without raising taxes beyond the current county level.
The question is whether residents want a city, something Commissioner Elaine Boyer said should be allowed to happen without any state study.
“It interferes with those who want to choose a government that is to their liking,” said Boyer, the lone dissenting commission voice on the moratorium on city annexations and incorporations.
The moratorium is the county’s top local issue for state lawmakers this year, at least so far. The board dodged several other potential issues Tuesday. Top among them: whether the county should ditch its elected CEO form of government for a professional city manager.
The commission did vote unanimously on one symbolic resolution, asking state lawmakers to “respect the home rule authority” of the county.
The statement is in response to several instances where the Legislature has gone against the wishes of the commission in regards to Dunwoody and other issues.
“Every time we do something they don’t like, our state legislators come in and change what we can do,” Commissioner Lee May said. “We just want to hammer home that we have that authority to pass laws here in DeKalb.”
The commission has a small window to decide on more items for its legislative agenda. Proposals such as the switch to a county manager and changing the county’s purchasing policy to require commission approval are still up in the air.
The commission is expected to vote on those by year’s end in order to be ready to lobby lawmakers in the new year.
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