... Legislation that would allow residents to create two new cities in DeKalb County is a step closer to a vote by the Georgia House, but border disputes remain unresolved.
A House committee Wednesday approved bills that could pave the way for the new cites of LaVista Hills and Tucker in central DeKalb. Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody, is the sponsor of the LaVista Hills bill and says residents want a more efficient and responsive government.
“What you see here is a common thread: dissatisfaction with the current DeKalb County government,” said Taylor. “This bill does not create a city. All it creates is an opportunity for folks in that area to vote in a referendum whether they want to become a city or not.”
Really, Tom? Is that how you see it? Are you sure it doesn't have something to do with the schools and your bill that would allow the constitution to be changed to create new systems?
We're all mad at the county ... then why is it that none of these other areas actually started proposing anything of the sort until a LAKESIDE CITY ALLIANCE, comprised of:
- A Hotel Industry Market Predictor Consultant and His Bored Empty Nester / Urban Agriculture Leader Wife who has served on many advisory committees for the county.
- A former AJC Reporter turned Political PR Firm and Strategist
- A Political Think Tank Known Around the State for Smear Campaigns and Disgraceful Robo Call tactics. (A duo that helped Brookhaven and is now helping Lavista / Lakeside)
- A disgruntled "retired" politician who still donates money to current campaigns under the name "Friends of ... "
- A former School Board Member who was the guilty party behind many of the SACS violations as detailed in the report
- Another former School Board Member
- Another former School Board Member and Former Superintendent
- The School Board Member's Real Estate Mogul Sister
- People who currently work for the county or in the school system who said they do not wish to be named .
- People who live in Fulton County
- People who live in Tucker but served on a SPLOST team to help gain money for the school system at a time when others were begging SACS to help them because things were so bad.
- People who just finished working on the City of Brookhaven, which barely passed a referendum vote and made a lot of people very mad.
- A current school board member
- A current county commissioner
- A former county commissioner investigated by the FBI and awaiting sentencing
- That commissioner's husand, also found guilty
- A former school principal
Because if THESE PEOPLE were so upset about the county and how things were running, you sure would not have known it based on their own actions. They supported many of the plans and ideas that the entire rest of the county was complaining about. They watched as their own home values held steady or grew when the rest of the county was hit by a little thing called the housing bubble.
You see, a housing bubble is created when politicians, like you, do not ever venture outside their own little world in order to find out how things are going for other around them. The housing bubble is created when Realtors, builders, educators and other people with power, money or, God forbid, BOTH, allow themselves to invest in "get rich quick" schemes like flipping houses or government bonds or housing development and they boost the value of their own investments by artificial means ... finding ways to control the housing values in an area by paying too much for a home or misreporting the transaction so that it is used more than once in the calculations of nearby home values thus bringing all properties up.
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| NOTICE HOW VERY FEW PEOPLE FOR TUCKER ACTUALLY LIVE IN TUCKER? Notice how Lakeside has its core supporters in Tucker, too? And, they just so happen to be directly across the street from the cluster of Tucker City Starters? The same is true for Lakeside and Briarcliff! Key supporters of these two groups are only a few short blocks away from each other. Is this the "walking distance" representation they keep bragging about? Then, we have some core Tucker advocates who don't even live in Tucker! What difference will it make to them if there is a city of Tucker formed that later fails financially? We can't even show you where our new county commissioner lives, or where the Lakeside Champions Sen. Millar and Rep. Taylor live because they have their homes in Dunwoody. YOU CANNOT EVEN SEE DUNWOODY ON THIS MAP. |
They also might do things like ... oh we don't know... let's say "encourage teachers to cheat for kids on tests to bring up their testing scores." Normally that would sound like a crazy idea, but we all know it really did happen. And it happened in Atlanta. Before that, it happened in DeKalb.
They might get their own friends into top jobs and promise to protect them if anything goes wrong. They might adjust values on things like graduation rates, or just fail to mention or promote the success of others all around them, just to keep their own communities believing in their own importance. Or, they might actually have a transient community of renters without anyone outside the area ever realizing it. They might be filling their seats at their school with "special cases" for the teachers and bus drivers. They might be REALLY happy to learn that politicians have sent their own kids to their school even if they don't live nearby. And with every house that flips, they get a little more in their pockets. Until... the bubble POPS!
The Lakeside Bubble NEEDS TO POP! They need to take a hit on their home values in order for the services that can be afforded in our county will match what the people are paying. Otherwise, they will continue to pay too much. And government won't ever lower the rate, so the only way to lower it is to let the values come down naturally. Stop with the quick sales or other foreclosure avoidance techniques. Stop messing with the appraisal software. Let them get a good hard look at reality and maybe they will stop blaming everyone around them for something our entire country has had to deal with since 2007, the time they were making big plans for spending more. Now, finally we can let them learn how to be patient and wait for the market to change on its own without their own influence gumming up the works.
No one is left who can pay ridiculous amounts for very little tangible in return. And those graduation rates and test scores have come down to a more realistic place, so let's allow the kids to actually show us what they can do on their own, okay? They thought their dirt was pure gold and everything everyone else had was nasty red Georgia clay. Really it is just dirt and the same housing materials used everywhere else.)
Fewer people who can get loans. More people making smarter decisions. A nearby community of nice folks who held steady through the recession. That's Tucker. Our homes are just as nice as what you will find at Lakeside. But, thanks to their leadership, our schools don't have the same reputation. In fact, our shared board member even dismissed it when Tucker had the best graduation rate. But, why? Because if our homes are ever worth what their homes are worth, there will go all the hype right out the door about ITP vs. OTP.
These folks never hit a housing "bubble." That's why they think they are paying TOO MUCH for government services. They are right. They are.
But that does not mean that we are. And we should not have to follow their lead on this city stuff either. The history of decision making by the Lakeside Alliance is not very good. It has led them to a panic and they now want to control everything and everyone. They don't want to hear questions or even reasonable discussion. They are about to drown and they want to pull the entire county down with them. Let them go. We cannot help them because they won't accept anyone's help. They only lash out in anger and they do this because it is all part of their plan. They don't want YOU to still be living here when they start their city. They are helping recreate a metro Atlanta area in Dunwoody's image. And chances are, if you fit that image now, you would already be living there. If you live here, watch your back!
If we are so mad at the county, then how do you explain this ...
Tucker hasn't been saying things like that at all. In fact, at every Tucker Together meeting when this process began, everyone said how much they liked Dekalb County, were satisfied with their services and were mostly unhappy with the school system. What they DID say was that they did not want to allow Lakeside to come in and take our land that has been a part of Tucker for far longer than the "Lakeside" area has ever even existed! What does the Tucker 2015 map do for us ? Nothing. It offers NO protection of our known borders on every side. It takes on more low income, high density, multi-family housing properties without taking any of the nearby commercial to support the residents. We KNOW that you represent the best interests of Dunwoody. We know that Dunwoody wants to keep all the economic development for themselves but you didn't plan it good enough to realize that along with the development also comes the need for workers and housing for them. By NOT providing the housing, you have created a traffic nightmare on the top end perimeter of mammoth proportions. In fact, your economic outlook may even be harmed as a result because local residents do not even want to shop at perimeter any longer. It's that bad. So, to solve your Dunwoody problem and to keep your job, what do you propose? A city of Lavista Hills? Really? Is that because you plan to add more housing in the areas outside of your own city so someone else has to pay the tab for them and even educate their children? It's just not right.
If we are so mad at the county, then how do you explain this ...
Tucker hasn't been saying things like that at all. In fact, at every Tucker Together meeting when this process began, everyone said how much they liked Dekalb County, were satisfied with their services and were mostly unhappy with the school system. What they DID say was that they did not want to allow Lakeside to come in and take our land that has been a part of Tucker for far longer than the "Lakeside" area has ever even existed! What does the Tucker 2015 map do for us ? Nothing. It offers NO protection of our known borders on every side. It takes on more low income, high density, multi-family housing properties without taking any of the nearby commercial to support the residents. We KNOW that you represent the best interests of Dunwoody. We know that Dunwoody wants to keep all the economic development for themselves but you didn't plan it good enough to realize that along with the development also comes the need for workers and housing for them. By NOT providing the housing, you have created a traffic nightmare on the top end perimeter of mammoth proportions. In fact, your economic outlook may even be harmed as a result because local residents do not even want to shop at perimeter any longer. It's that bad. So, to solve your Dunwoody problem and to keep your job, what do you propose? A city of Lavista Hills? Really? Is that because you plan to add more housing in the areas outside of your own city so someone else has to pay the tab for them and even educate their children? It's just not right.
But there are residents in the proposed cities who would rather be annexed into Atlanta and Stone Mountain. Those proposals aren’t as far along in the process, which is why Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur voted down the LaVista Hills and Tucker bills.
Again, really? We know there are BUSINESSES who are committed to the Stone Mountain area. Haven't heard from the residents. Maybe we are missing something. We have heard people want to be left alone and remain unincorporated. Why isn't that an option?
“I think it’s fair to say that all these proposals may have a chance to go forward in a healthy way, but these are border disputes that have not been resolved,” Oliver said.
Adding to the confusion are several other cityhood and annexation campaigns in the county, including efforts to create the cities of Greenhaven, Stonecrest and, the most recent addition, Winship. AND THE REAL TUCKER... WHY ARE WE ALWAYS LEFT OFF THESE LISTS?
The earliest the full House can vote on the LaVista Hills and Tucker bills is Friday. (last week) To have a chance at becoming law, bills must be approved by at least one chamber by March 13.
MORE TO COME THIS WEEK! KEEP READING US EVERY DAY!
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