Ellis: Cityhood, Annexations Harm County Government

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis said this week recent and ongoing cityhood movements and annexations harm county services, and the state legislature needs to grant the county more oversight over these issues.

Continued withdrawls of land from unincorporated DeKalb County into existing or new municipalities also threaten to slow the county's economic recovery, Ellis said Tuesday before a group of county businessmen Tuesday in his 2013 State of the County speech.

The speech was given at the Thalia N. Carlos Hellenic Community Center off Clairmont Road.

Here is the text of Ellis' thoughts specifically on those two issues:

During the past two years, DeKalb County has been forced to take a defensive posture at the Georgia General Assembly. Efforts to incorporate or annex prime real estate have severely hurt our bottom line. A fractured county will not lift us out of the economic recession.

In actuality, it might place us deeper in it.

This is the struggle of a great community!

I say this not harboring any ill will to our city leaders or anti-city sentiment. In fact, my relationship with the mayors in DeKalb County is based on mutual respect, friendship, and a desire to serve our respective constituents as best as we can.

But, unique state law on this issue has allowed revenue shifting from the County to city governments, and that hurts us all, whether we live in incorporated or unincorporated portions of the County.

We have now reached a “tipping point” where continued annexation will hamper the ability of the county to adequately fund essential services – from courts and criminal justice, to libraries and elections – that all of our citizens depend upon.

The Board of Commissioners and I have asked our delegation to amend the state code to require approval by the county for annexation of areas that currently receive county services. We also want their support of legislation providing property owners new rights to weigh in on matters pertaining to annexation.

We believe these steps will protect the interests of all our citizens and allow for greater dialogue between DeKalb County and its cities to develop a strategy that emphasizes collaboration instead of confrontation.

All local governments – cities and counties - face the same challenges of trying to balance our budgets while providing our constituents the frontline services they depend on. I see no reason why we cannot find a solution together.

The Tucker community has been subject to some cityhood chatter over the last year, though no larger movement has materialized. In the nearby North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area, some residents have attended meetings about cityhood, however.

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