Representative Mike Jacobs

On Monday, April 16, Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 636, the Brookhaven city charter, into law.  The bill calls for a July 31 referendum in which you will have a chance to decide whether you want to take control of some of your local government services and the tax dollars that go with them, or whether you would like to continue these services under the DeKalb County Government.  The bill signing ceremony is pictured above.

House Bill 636, the proposed city charter for the City of Brookhaven, passed the State Senate on Monday, March 26, by a vote of 36-14. It received final passage 104-57 in the House of Representatives on Thursday, March 29. The bill now awaits the Governor’s signature.

Click here to read the final version of HB 636 that passed the General Assembly.

I am committed to providing you with full and forthright information about the proposed city in advance of the July 31 referendum. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions regarding the proposed city:

Q: How will cityhood affect my property taxes?

A: It will reduce your overall property tax burden as compared to what is paid in unincorporated DeKalb County.

Becoming a city does not add new taxes to your property tax bill. Instead, it shifts two line items – one known as the Unincorporated Tax District (labeled “UNIC TAXDIST”) and one for Police Services (labeled “POLICE SERVC”) – from the county to the city.

DeKalb County increased these two line items 82% in 2011, from 3.5 to 6.39 mills in total.

A positive vote in the July referendum would decrease these line items from 6.39 mills to a maximum of 3.35 mills, where they will be subject to a millage cap (more on that in a moment). It also would increase the applicable homestead exemption from $10,000 to $20,000. The HOST credit that you see on your tax bill does not apply to city taxes. It only applies to county taxes, so it needs to be added back into your property taxes in order to arrive at the final amount you would pay.

The result is that all property owners will receive a property tax cut. For homestead property (your primary home), this tax cut could be slight or it could be significant, depending upon how efficiently the city council operates the city.

Dunwoody now enjoys the lowest property tax burden anywhere in DeKalb County, lower than the unincorporated area. It is anticipated that Brookhaven would enjoy the second lowest property tax burden in DeKalb, also lower than the unincorporated area.

Click here for an analysis that I previously prepared to show how this tax cut would operate in real dollars.

Q: I am a senior citizen. How does cityhood affect my senior homestead exemptions?

A: It has no impact on your senior homestead exemptions, which will remain the same. All senior homestead exemptions that currently apply to your county property taxes will apply to the transferred city line item.

Q: Are there any new taxes in a city?

A: Yes. The only new taxes are franchise fees. These are amounts that the city charges utility providers for running their utility lines in the right-of-way along city streets. Not all franchise fees are passed directly to utility customers who live in the city that charges the fees, but some are.

Specifically, franchise fees will add 2% to your electric bill and 3% to your land-line telephone bill. Nothing is added to your natural gas or cable bill. If you do not use a land-line telephone, but instead use voice-over internet (VOIP) or a cell phone, nothing is added to those bills, either.

Click here to read a more thorough explanation of franchise fees that was prepared by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVI) at the University of Georgia.

Q: Is the City of Brookhaven financially viable?

A: Yes. The CVI study that was performed for the proposed city estimated that city expenditures would be $25.1 million, and that city revenues would exceed this amount by approximately $135,348. This estimate is believed to be conservative, for two reasons.

First, DeKalb County has stated in two recent news articles (click here and here to read) that the county believes that $25 to $27 million in tax revenue will be shifted from the county to the city. The CVI revenue estimate is on the low side of this range.

Second, the City of Dunwoody is only spending $20.9 million in 2012, $4.2 million less than the CVI expenditure estimate for Brookhaven. In this regard, Dunwoody is a good analogue for Brookhaven. The two cities would be located in the same county, operate in a similar manner with privatized services to the extent it is cost-effective, and have a similar population size, with Dunwoody at 46,267 and Brookhaven at 49,173.

The $135,348 is not an actual budget surplus. It is an estimate based upon a study. Before Dunwoody was formed, CVI estimated its surplus to be $278,789. However, in its first year of operations, Dunwoody’s actual expenditures were 11% less than estimated.

Click here to read the complete CVI study with the two addenda that were prepared during the 2012 legislative session. The addenda are found at the end of the document.

Q: Opponents say that the “millage cap” will hurt the city. Is this true?

A: No. The millage cap simply means that your millage rate for city property taxes will not go higher than 3.35 mills without asking for your vote in a public referendum.

Opponents of cityhood point to the City of Johns Creek, which has a millage cap that has prevented it from pursuing infrastructure improvements at a desirable pace, and then argue that “Brookhaven also will have a millage cap” that will yield the same result with respect to Brookhaven’s infrastructure.

What the opponents are not telling the public is that, in order to be increased, the Johns Creek millage cap requires a “yes” vote from a majority of all registered voters who live in the city. This is virtually impossible to accomplish in any given election.

By contrast, in order to increase the Brookhaven millage cap, the city charter takes the traditional approach of requiring a “yes” vote from a majority of those voters who show up to the polls on election day.

The millage cap ensures a substantially higher degree of transparency than exists in unincorporated DeKalb. It requires your city council to first explain to you why they are requesting a property tax increase above a certain rate, and then ask your permission for the proposed tax increase.

Q: How does the millage cap affect bonds?

A: General obligation bonds (GO bonds) already require a public referendum. Therefore, the city charter provides that GO bonds will not count toward the millage cap.

Also, the City of Brookhaven will be able to opt out of future county bond issues.

Q: What are the main services that the city would provide?

A: Police. Parks and recreation. Code enforcement. Roads, sidewalks, and drainage. Planning, zoning, and land use.

Cityhood does not add a layer of government with respect to these services. Instead, the services and the tax revenues that go along with them are transferred from the county to the city. The county ceases to be responsible for providing these services to the citizens who live in the city.

Fire, EMS, sanitation, water, sewer, the jail, and most courts (except for the municipal court) will remain administered by the county government.

Public schools will continue to be administered by the DeKalb County School System.

Q: Who will be making the decisions about my city services and taxes?

A: An elected city council comprised of residents of our community. The city would have a five-member city council with four members elected from single-member districts and a mayor elected at large. These councilmembers will be highly accountable to our neighborhoods due the relatively small population size of each city council district.

Each Brookhaven city council member would represent about 12,297 residents compared to the five DeKalb County commissioners who represent about 138,379 residents each, and the two super district commissioners who represent about 345,947 residents each. That’s 11 times and 28 times, respectively, as many residents as a Brookhaven city council member would represent.

Click here to view a map of the proposed city council districts.

District 1 includes the Murphey Candler and Silver Lake neighborhoods. District 2 includes Ashford Park and Drew Valley. District 3 includes Historic Brookhaven, Brookhaven Heights, Brookhaven Fields, and Lenox Park. District 4 includes HillsDale, Pine Hills, and a portion of Buford Highway.

Compare these neighborhood-focused city council districts to the DeKalb County Commission, where our three commissioners reside in Downtown Decatur, Druid Hills, and Stone Mountain.

Q: Will I have to change my address from “Atlanta” to “Brookhaven”?

No. You can use whichever address you prefer. As long as the zip code is correct, the postal service will not mind.

The Dunwoody Crier performed some fact-checking on a recent flier that the Ashford Neighbors opposition group tossed in the driveways and front yards of residents across the footprint of the proposed city. Here is what the The Crier found, which is being republished here with their express permission:

Fact Check: Details on Brookhaven
By Rebecca Chase Williams
The Dunwoody Crier
March 27, 2012

As the debate over whether to form a new city of Brookhaven begins in earnest, The Crier examined recent claims by opponents in a flyer distributed by Laurenthia Mesh of Ashford Neighbors.org, an opposition group.

Claim: “Experts reported to the Senate Study Committee this week that the franchise fees outweigh the negligible property tax reduction so that means increased taxes.”

Facts: The city of Brookhaven charter would roll back the millage rate for city services from the current millage rate of 6.9 to 3.35 mills. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value. That’s a tax savings of approximately $300 per $100,000 assessed value. The Franchise fee is added to utility bills, most significantly Georgia Power bills, which according to the utility would amount to 1.8 percent of the yearly power bill. The Carl Vinson Institute estimated the average fee would be less than $50.

On the face of it, the above claim is false. But there are other factors, especially the loss of the HOST (Homestead Option Sales Tax) credit on the city portion of the tax bill that would go to the city instead of individual residents. This calculation can be estimated by looking at your most recent DeKalb tax bill. The county estimates it would be an average loss of $300 per homeowner. In most cases, the tax rollback would be somewhat larger than the HOST credit.

Most calculations show that new citizens of Brookhaven will enjoy a slightly lower tax burden with a guarantee that city taxes will not be raised without voter approval. Other factors such as the assessed value, and the final budget of the new city will also determine one’s final tax liability.

Claim: “Johns Creek city says it is unable to pay for necessary infrastructure repair because its charter has a “cap” (just like the city of Brookhaven) and cannot raise taxes.”

Facts: According to Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker, “Both statements are inaccurate. We have enough money to pay our bills. We now spend $1-2 million a year for roads, but ideally if we could pass a bond issue of $10-20 million and repave all the roads at one time, which would be more cost effective. The “cap” on our millage rate may need to be amended as it was mistakenly put in the charter as requiring a majority of all registered voters rather than a majority of those who go to the polls. We haven’t hit our cap and that’s not the problem.”

Claim: “Dunwoody now has a substantial crime increase of 11 percent last year and their police chief needs an additional $2,777,250.00 because they are understaffed 50 percent and exhausted.”

Facts: According to Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan, “Our crime rate in 2011 compared to 2010 was slightly down. We’ve had an uptick in property crimes. In January it was up 11 percent, and February it was up 11 percent. We’ve had a group targeting an area, breaking into cars, and this causes a spike in crime.”

Grogan said that his memo to city council at its annual retreat asked for a total budget increase of $1.85 million over five years, to add 14 positions. His goal was to increase staffing to 1.56 officers per 1,000 residents. Today, the ratio is .99/1000.

Grogan added, “The staff of the Dunwoody Police Department does an exceptional job providing police services to the citizens of Dunwoody. We have formed many important relationships with citizens and community organizations to fight crime and improve the quality of life of those who live in and visit Dunwoody.”

Claim: “City of Sandy Springs water bills almost tripled after becoming a city.”

Facts: Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos replied, “The city of Sandy Springs unfortunately has no control over the water bills. Our residents are forced to be customers of the city of Atlanta, which has been the water provider of this area from the time water lines were first installed in mid-century of the 1900s. The city of Atlanta has raised water bills three times in the last two years, and since our residents are customers of Atlanta, they are suffering from these high bills.

The city has been in court for over two years trying to get out from under this arrangement, but unfortunately the Federal Circuit court, in which we were heard last June, has still not issued a decision. We would like the opportunity to arrange for a different provider of water for Sandy Springs than the city of Atlanta. Our high water bills are merged with the sewer money Atlanta collects, and our water revenue helps pay for the Atlanta water sewer system. Yet Sandy Springs does not even use the Atlanta sewer system. We pay for sewer to Fulton County. Thus, in effect we are paying for two sewer systems, which is double taxation. This is a very sore issue between Sandy Springs and Atlanta, and has been so even before we became a city.”

Claim: “Peachtree Corners City is already in court one month after incorporating! The estimated $50,000 for the city of Ashford (Brookhaven) would quickly disappear.”

Facts: Peachtree Corners City is not a city yet. The referendum passed and city council elections have held with runoffs scheduled. A nonexistent city cannot be sued. The community of Berkley Lakes has raised a boundary issue but a lawsuit has not been filed. Even with the change in the boundary lines, the Carl Vinson Institute has estimated the new city’s surplus to be $135,000, thus making both claims wrong.

By Ted Baggett
Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVI)
University of Georgia

This is in response to a request for clarification about franchise fees and how each utility’s billing would be impacted by franchise fees contemplated in the CVI report, Revenue and Expenditure Estimates for a Proposed City of Brookhaven, as potential revenue sources for a newly incorporated city.

The study calculated cable franchise fees based on the ratio of population of the study area to unincorporated DeKalb. Cable franchise fees are collected either by the county or a city. Because cable subscribers within the study area are currently paying cable franchise fees to DeKalb County, this revenue would merely be diverted to a new city. It was assumed that the same fee imposed by DeKalb would be used in a new city and thus no increase in costs on cable bills was anticipated.

With respect to natural gas, Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) maintains infrastructure throughout much of metro Atlanta, and the cost of franchise fees paid to municipalities are spread across all rate payers whose gas marketers utilize AGL infrastructure. Thus, all natural gas customers, inside or outside of city limits, using AGL infrastructure would absorb this comparatively small cost of doing business through their existing rates.

Land line telephone franchise fees are usually calculated at 3% of costs for service and are an add-on only paid by municipal customers in the city with the franchise fee, so an increase of slightly less than 3% is a reasonable approximation.

Georgia Power’s standard electric franchise agreements call for a 4% fee on gross sales (less fuel costs and sales taxes) of electricity within a city. The Georgia Public Service Commission determined in 2006 that half of that fee should be added on to the municipal customer’s bill and the rest should be paid out of the rate base of all Georgia Power customers statewide. So generally speaking, most municipal customer’s electric bills would increase by approximately 2%.

House Bill 636, the Brookhaven city charter, will be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Operations (SLOGO) Committee tomorrow, Monday, March 12, at 2:00 p.m. in Room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, directly across Mitchell Street from the State Capitol.

This likely will be the last opportunity for public comment before the bill completes its journey through the General Assembly.

BrookhavenYES, the citizens’ advocacy group for cityhood, has organized a bus to take cityhood supporters to the Capitol for this meeting. Click here for further details and to RSVP.

I recommend e-mailing the senators on SLOGO with your thoughts. Here is a list of committee members that you can cut and paste into the “to” field of your e-mail message, including me and Senator Fran Millar, the sponsors of the bill:

butch.miller@senate.ga.gov, rick.jeffares@senate.ga.gov, steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov, frank.ginn@senate.ga.gov, john.wilkinson@senate.ga.gov, horacena.tate@senate.ga.gov, donzella.james@senate.ga.gov, doug.stoner@senate.ga.gov, fran.millar@senate.ga.gov, mike.jacobs@house.ga.gov

House Bill 636 (click for information), the proposed city charter for the City of Brookhaven, passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, February 7, by a vote of 9-5. It passed the full House of Representatives on Friday, February 17, by a vote of 101-57.

The bill is awaiting a hearing in the Senate State and Local Government Operations (SLOGO) Committee, which I anticipate will occur within the next week and a half.

Click here to view my presentation of HB 636 to the full House.

The House Governmental Affairs Committee passed an amendment to rename our community “Ashford.” This amendment was proposed at the behest of residents of one particular neighborhood. Needless to say, I do not support the amendment and will present a substitute version of HB 636 to the Senate SLOGO Committee that will restore the appropriate name of our community, Brookhaven.

In doing so, I will present historical evidence that the name Brookhaven has applied to a broad community – with its center of gravity in DeKalb County – for many decades. For example, here is a helpful article (click for link) noting that Murphey Candler Little League was first known as Brookhaven Little League when it started at Murphey Candler Park in 1958, complete with an opening day parade that began at Cherokee Plaza on Peachtree Road and ended at the park.

On a separate note, I recently met with a group of constituents from the Brookhaven Fields neighborhood who suggested that we change the structure of the Brookhaven city council to four single-district city council members, which yields a five-member city council when you count the at-large elected mayor.

They were concerned about the three at-large city council members that are provided in the version of HB 636 which passed the House of Representatives. As it stands now, there would be a seven-member city council comprised of three at-large council members who would be elected by the city as a whole but each reside in one of three districts, three district council members who would reside in each of the three districts and be elected only by the citizens who live in their particular district, and an at-large elected mayor.

I appreciated the meeting. The result of the meeting is that the substitute version of HB 636 that will be presented to the Senate will provide for a five-member city council comprised of four members elected from single-member districts and a mayor elected at large.

Click here to view the proposed four-district map. This map is intended to keep individual neighborhoods whole and avoid dividing them into more than one district. District 1 includes the Murphey Candler and Silver Lake neighborhoods. District 2 includes Ashford Park and Drew Valley. District 3 includes Historic Brookhaven, Brookhaven Heights, Brookhaven Fields, and Lenox Park. District 4 includes HillsDale, Pine Hills, and a portion of Buford Highway.

This new city council structure amplifies our individual voices and gives our neighborhoods real power over the future of our community. Each Brookhaven city council member would represent about 12,297 residents compared to the five DeKalb County commissioners who represent about 138,379 residents each, and the two super district commissioners who represent about 345,947 residents each. That’s 11 times and 28 times, respectively, as many residents as a Brookhaven city council member would represent.

On a final note, the proposed city limits had included Plaza Fiesta, the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant, and other commercial properties on the east side of Clairmont Road, across from Ashford Park and Drew Valley.

Representative Elena Parent, who represents that area, has proposed House Bill 1006 (click for information) to annex this and other territory down to I-85 into the City of Chamblee. Assuming that HB 1006 passes the General Assembly, the Brookhaven city limits will end at Clairmont Road. The city council map discussed above reflects this change.