Representative Scott Holcomb Hosts Town Hall Meeting at Evansdale

On Thursday night, Representative Scott Holcomb (D-82) hosted a town hall meeting at Evansdale Elementary School to discuss the upcoming legislative session as well as public safety in the community. Commissioner Jeff Rader and officers from the DeKalb Police Department joined him as speakers.

Holcomb, who had scheduled the meeting some time ago, expanded the agenda to include public safety in response to the in the Tucker and Northlake areas, including theft from vehicle, which was broken into in his driveway while he was home one morning the week before Christmas.

“These thieves are very brazen, very bold, for doing these things right in the middle of the day while people are home. It’s very disturbing,” he said.

The meeting began with a quick welcome from Holcomb, which included thanking Evansdale’s principal, Dan McGuire, for hosting the meeting. Holcomb then turned the floor over to Commissioner Rader, who spoke briefly on the state of affairs in DeKalb County, primarily in regard to the tax deficit and how that relates to property taxes. He emphasized that “we need a more stable tax digest,” stating that residents need to pay taxes based on their ability to pay rather than having those numbers skewed due to low appraisals in response to foreclosures. “It creates a stigma in the community,” he said, when an area that is typically stable dips down and shifts the tax burden to other areas of the county.

Rader also spoke briefly on the proposed incorporation of the Brookhaven community and how that could be detrimental to other areas of the county. He also expressed concern that other areas of the county, including Tucker, may move toward doing a similar thing in the future. “If this happens,” Rader said, “how will basic services be funded for the central part of the county? These are questions we need to ask when making decisions about incorporating more and more parts of the county.”

Holcomb circled back to this later in the meeting, stating that people need to understand the process and the repercussions of communities becoming cities and how that affects not just the community itself, but the county as a whole.  “Everyone, not just those in a particular area, should be allowed to vote” on matters like that, he indicated. The crowd piped up in support of this.

Rader closed his portion of the meeting by thanking the DeKalb police department for their service, saying that “they do a great job with the resources we’re able to provide them, and I certainly appreciate it.”

Around 10 police officers were in attendance, and Holcomb introduced Captains S. Porter (Center Precinct), V. Logan (Tucker Precinct), and M. Logan (Center Precinct). He asked the officers “What can we do to help keep our neighborhoods safe?”

Capt. Porter stressed that “there will be crime wherever you go. Be vigilant. In your car, put your stuff away…don’t leave things plugged in. Lock your doors.”

Capt. V. Logan then spoke on the recent crimes in this area, saying that “what we basically have are property crimes. We don’t have many violent crimes like assaults, etc.  In property crimes, usually, people aren’t around.” She mentioned that NET (Neighborhood Enforcement Teams) are working to saturate the area, being more visible. She then reminded everyone that “this is the holiday season,” and potential thieves know that people are buying gifts. She encouraged homeowners to be smart about their trash and packaging. “If you get a new 50” flat screen tv,” she said, “don’t put the box on the curb. Leaving boxes out is advertising yourself as a target.”

The officers then stressed that if anything looks suspicious, residents should please call 911. If you don’t wish to have an officer visit your home, leave a callback number so that you can help provide updates if needed. 

Capt. M. Logan then went on to stress that people should not hesitate to call 911 any time, that they are not “abusing the system” if something’s going on, even if it’s not urgent. “You can say it’s a non-emergency when they pick up the phone,” he said, “and your call will be routed appropriately.” He explained that calling 911 creates a permanent record, which provides information that can be used later on. Cross-checking calls helps uncover crime patterns, strings of activity, etc.

In response to a question about what homeowners are legally allowed to do, should they be home while an intruder is attempting a break-in, the officers as well as Holcomb emphasized that citizens have a constitutional right to bear arms and protect themselves. “If your life or your family are in danger, you can do what you need to do,” Holcomb said. Capt. V. Logan went on to say that “If you’re going to buy a weapon, make sure you know how to handle it. A gun is not always the best weapon for each individual.”

Holcomb then moved into his discussion of the upcoming legislative session.  Education continues to be a concern for him. “The U.S. ranks 26th in the world,” he said, “and Georgia is consistently in the bottom 5 or 10 of the U.S. We have to do better.  Budget cuts threaten our ultimate competitiveness.” He expressed concern over the cuts and changes made to the HOPE scholarship, because limiting college opportunity is “not the answer.” He also explained that the reason the charter schools commission was struck down in the last session was not based on merit, but based on the fact that the Georgia constitution specifically gives control to local school boards, not the state, so it was unconstitutional for the General Assembly to make decisions in regard to charter schools. He said that in the upcoming session there will “possibly be some debate and discussion about vouchers and school choice,” but that, to him, “the quality of teachers is what matters more than anything else,” and that determining how to fairly gauge teacher performance is the real challenge.

The transportation special purpose local option sales tax (T-SPLOST) will be up for vote in July. It is set to fund transit (rail and light rail) and roads, including improvements to the Pleasantdale Road exit from I-85N.  “Does it stink to have to pay another penny?” Holcomb asked. “Yes, but I still support it.” He indicated that voting against the tax because of the existing MARTA tax is short sighted, saying that “traffic is a nightmare,” and that Georgia, as a state, vastly under invests in infrastructure. He encouraged voters to look at the project list and then decide how to vote.

He touched briefly on taxes, indicating that there would likely be some talk of tax reform in the Assembly but that he doesn’t yet know what it will look like, but that he’d keep his district informed. He also reiterated his stance on the immigration law that passed in the last session, saying that it is a “hot button issue from last year.” Holcomb voted against the bill, citing that he believes immigration should be a federal issue, not a state issue, and that our country shouldn’t be a patchwork of immigration laws. He then said that “I don’t think that you should condone lawbreaking because it’s good for the economy, but this bill has been very destructive to Georgia’s economy in terms of agriculture as well as the hotel and restaurant industries.”

Holcomb closed the meeting by mentioning three reports he plans to include in his next legislative newsletter: Criminal Justice Reform, Water (building more reservoirs versus options that are more conservation-minded), and Health Care.

In response to a final question, Holcomb touched very briefly on the house redistricting issue. On December 23, the Department of Justice released pre-clearance of Georgia’s maps (which were redrawn following the 2010 census). Holcomb’s district has now changed, and the current district 82 is slated to be splintered into several different districts, which Holcomb feels does a great disservice to the Tucker/Northlake community. “It will likely go to court,” he said, “but I doubt there’s enough time for anything to be done before the new maps go into effect in 2012.” He expressed his frustrations with the government in regard to this, saying that “DeKalb was not treated terribly well in this process.”

Holcomb closed the meeting as he always does, giving those in attendance his contact information. Anyone who would like to reach him is encouraged to do so through his website or via e-mail at scott@repscottholcomb.com.