Open Letter to the Tucker Community from an Economic Developer

By Shaun Dodson

I was lucky enough to make it into the meeting Monday night at Tucker Middle School. The meeting was interesting, with representatives from many of the great organizations that have been formed over the years to support and grow the Tucker Community. 

As a homeowner in the Tucker community and as an individual working with Development Authorities throughout Georgia, I have a personal and professional interest in the topic.

I was impressed by each organization’s presentation on the great efforts they make for the Tucker Community, but I couldn’t help but keep thinking to myself “What does this have to do with opposing a study on cityhood? Wouldn’t an incorporated city give these organizations a locally controlled Chamber of Commerce to support each other?” 

Based on experience I have had all over the great state of Georgia, by and large, cities and counties generally work together extremely well. There are functions better served by Counties and functions that are better served by Cities. I can say with confidence, that the organizations that presented on behalf of the Tucker Community last night WOULD benefit greatly by cityhood if the appropriate studies indicate cityhood is feasible. The only way to find that out is to have a study done!

It seems the primary objections to cityhood were:
Community Identity - “We are Tucker, Not Lakeside”
Fear of Increased Taxes
The School System

While I don’t question the sincerity of those concerns, most appear to be either easily addressed or unsupported by the historical records of our neighboring areas which have followed the cityhood route.

Addressing the community identity “We are Tucker, not Lakeside” argument:

LCA made it clear last night that “Lakeside” is a working name and by no means the final name of the newly formed city. They even admitted it was a horrible working name given the unforeseen politics coming from the Tucker Community.

Addressing the fear of increased taxes argument:

LCA has made it clear that if the study comes back to say that taxes would be raised to form a city, they would not pursue cityhood. Going a step further, our neighbors in Dunwoody are now paying lower taxes than us citizens in unincorporated DeKalb County. Their millage rate has not moved since the city has formed, while unincorporated DeKalb’s millage rate has risen in that same time.

Addressing the issue of the school system:

LCA is not studying incorporation in order to form a city school system. In fact, a city school system cannot be create under the current Georgia constitution.  Furthermore, the formation of a city would, in no way, impact where our children go to school. That is dictated by the Department of Education, not by municipalities. Forming a city would not take kids from the Tucker Cluster and send them to the Lakeside Cluster!

Here is the bottom line folks. I love Tucker… My wife was born and raised here… I was born here and with exception of a few “lost years in Gwinnett”, I’ve lived here all of my life. My wife and I plan to raise a family in this great community.  We want the best community we can have for us, for our future children, and for our neighbors

There was a study done in 2006 that suggested that an official feasibility study for cityhood is warranted. At the time, there was not enough motivation to raise the funds to do such a study. Now there is a group of our neighbors willing to attempt to raise the funds for such a study.

The only viable reason I can understand for opposing LCA is the fact that right now it’s boundaries are dividing the Tucker Community. Unfortunately, I feel like that division of the community has been self-imposed by the Tucker Community itself because there is a perception that we are blindly unwilling to join LCA in the study of cityhood (a study that has been previously proven viable).

So what if, instead of opposing LCA, the Tucker Community joined forces with them? Joining forces would be much more beneficial for our community than the alternative. Ten years from now, I would be extremely surprised if there was such a thing as Unincorporated DeKalb.

Do we want to be proactive and join forces in a study that is funded by our community and for our community, or do we want to sit quietly by and have cityhood forced down our throats a few years down the road, with little say-so in how incorporation is handled?

Let me pose this question: If all of “Tucker” was included within the feasibility study boundary for the LCA study, would you be opposed to being a part of it?

Related items on Tucker Patch:

• Hundreds Attend Lakeside Cityhood Meeting
• New Map Shows Lakeside Land Grab
• Lakeside Alliance Files Cityhood Bill
• 'Placeholder' Bill Filed for Tucker Cityhood
• POLL: Should Lakeside City Include West Tucker?