Do you support annexation?

"Added costs for city government and the school system: Not determined."

Can't have an opinion on supporting it till that's determined. What was said about why Decatur would do this?

JayJay, the city gave four reasons: To influence development at the city's gateways, to expand and stabilize property taxes, because some property owners want to join the city, and to consolidate partial properties.

Oof, our schools already can't keep up with our growth.

Maybe there 230 kids are in the census data, but I would be willing to bet a lot more than that would magically show up to school the first day. my guess is more like 350 initially and 700 after families start moving in. $1.7million divided by 350 kids is only $4850 per child, not enough to even cover cost per child which is more like $6000. Take out exemptions and it is even less. Also, how many special needs kids are in the children's home? Is this a reasonable number to add to our schools? All this needs made clear before the decision to annex is made.

The Decatur student population is now 19%, and with the proposed annexation that number drops to 18%. That is, the annexations bring in more taxpayers than students compared to the current Decatur population.

This move seems like a win for the schools.

AES is correct. CSD is notoriously conservative (I'm being polite) when projecting enrollment increases. Expect more than 230--much more. I say NO to annexation. The schools are already bursting at the seams.

Please educate me - why would I want to be annexed? What are the advantages? Would they offset the increase in property taxes?

What if I don't want my property annexed? I am retired and do not want to pay the extra taxes. Property owners should be given the option of being annexed or not. Property owners in the areas to be annexed should be allowed a vote.

Tomi -- Who is you city commissioner? You should call them or send a letter or email to let them know your feelings.

The cost to educate a student is not carried exclusively by Decatur taxpayers, as the state kicks in some money. Also, more students might bring economies of scale...another student in a classroom with a capacity for, say, 26, but which now only has 24 students, would not really "cost" more, as no other costs would be incurred. Advantages for annexees? Being part of a terrific school system makes your property values skyrocket, great police and fire department (which may reduce your insurance rates, I'm not sure.) Retiree--if you're old enough, you can apply for an exemption to school property taxes. However, remember that the students who you object to paying to educate are the same ones who are going to fund your social security.

AES and Judd, I stand corrected. I thought the $6,000 was the overall cost, not just the city of Decatur cost. And, you're right about tuition students filling in some of that, and that the system is accpeting fewer tuition students. (BTW, children of teachers get to attend at no cost, courtesy tuition.) But I think economies of scale still apply, because Decatur schools are quite small. If we add classrooms, we may have to hire a teacher and pay for a classroom, but we don't have to hire a new principal, make a new lunchroom, hire another bus..etc, hire another superintendent, another janitor, etc. I'm not an economist, but it seems like the more students we have, the lower our cost per pupil would be because of these economies of scale. Plus, we've got an entire school -- Westchester -- now being used as administrative offices, that will be converted back to a school in a few years, which will help with some of the crowding previously mentioned.

My point is that we need to look at the math really, really closely here. I am not complaining about tuition students (we were a tuition family until we moved into the city.) Neither am I totally opposed to expanding the city. Just trying to raise some concerns. The money has to make sense or we run the risk of having a negative impact on our school system, which I believe is the biggest one thing that contributes to making Decatur such an attractive community. Whether it costs 6 or 8K per student (maybe 6K is a good number to use if you figure some economy of scale), if we are bringing in less than that, we will have to make it up somewhere else by raising taxes or reducing the quality.

We should also recognize that the number of students in the census data is low and will in most likelihood jump considerably in the months after the school zones change as people buy or rent in those newly annexed areas to be a part of the schools. The exemptions on the properties also need to be taken into account. What is the net amount of school tax if the current exemptions were used to calculate it? Why is that figure not available? Let's be careful here and get as much accurate information as possible before we justify this based on bad data.

Would reconfiguring the schools make sense at this point? If so, just get on with it.

I would welcome it. It's too bad my n'hood is not on ther map. All of the subdivisions off Katie Kerr could use being tied to a city, whether it be Decatur or Avondale Estates. Perhaps we'd have, you know, street lights on Katie Kerr, regular maintenance of the roadside (the grass has been knee high for two years), MARTA bus stops, etc. And whoa, perhaps some sharrows painted on the road! Dare to dream. Instead we just get neglected by Dekalb County. Homeowners, realize that the slight increase in tax you'd pay would serve your community in good ways.

Does annexation mean the MARTA train will now have to slow down all the way to Avondale now? Why has this adherence not been lifted already?

NONONONONONONON, and multiply that by 1,000. Decatur is big enough and does not need the problems this annexation issue will bring. You know, it's kinda like a small business that's doing really well and the owner says..."I think I'd like to grow my business", so I'll add another location, and then another and then another. One day the "bubble bursts" and the owner of the once thriving small business has to declare bankruptcy because he was greedy and wanted more. It's the same principle, folks......A bigger Decatur is not necessarily a better Decatur.....think about it, we've got a great city now.....why do we want to change that?

Tuition students are merely adding to classrooms that are too full already. We should have school construction, lots more teacher/teacher support hiring plans, and redistricting in place before this is approved. We already have "learning cottages" cluttering up the landscape with only more problems in sight as CSD grows. Remember CSD estimated and hit their 12% growth projection exactly? They should be overestimating based on what is happening in this town which feels like rabid growth. RABID. Overcrowded schools do not a good system make and the luster will wear off without some real planning.
There is hype about Decatur that cannot be sustained if we don't stop overcrowding schools. As soon as the tuition payers are cut, out of district teachers kids with courtesy tuition are next, which means a high teacher exit rate and a resulting increase in salary for new hires who want to be able to afford to live where they teach. Higher taxes again. Can't sustain it folks. There are houses selling for 700 and 800K in Oakhurst which is undermining the neighborhood and cultural landscape of what makes this town cool in the 1st place. I am not anti-progress/anti-growth, but we all have a responsibility (including home builders) to maintain the small town character of Decatur. We moved here to live and raise our children with all kinds of people, not just white people with giant houses. Look around and see if what is happening doesnt make you nervous.

Mayor Bill Floyd and his leadership team need to be very careful here. Decatur's school system is the goose that laid the golden egg. It's the primary driver of property values. It's the Decatur brand.

Unfortunately, the goose is already wobbly - with packed classrooms, oversubscribed aftercare programs and steady pleas from school administrators for volunteers, tutors, contributions and more.

If the city annexes without a commensurate and carefully-planned expansion of school resources, staffing and space - it will have only itself to blame for killing the goose that has already given us so much.

I say annex away. I live in Belvedere Park just south of memorial drive from Midway woods. There is a baby boom occurring among young professionals who have moved into the neighborhood in the last five years. I would much rather pay higher taxes just to be included in the School System that Decatur offers. It would be better and lessI expensive than private school costs. I wish City of Decatur would annex all the way down to Glenwood Road. The County hasn't been successful in reviving the Memorial Drive or Glenwood Road Commetcial Corridor that has been in major need of revitalization for over twenty years. Wal-Mart and other big box stores are not the solution to revitalization of this area of unincorporated Decatur. The location of this area of Decatur is an ideal location to live because it is much easier to access East Atlanta and I-20. Not tothe mention the residential lots are also much larger.

If Decatur annex all the way to Glenwood, they will have a different set of problems in which they are not ready to handle. Decatur Schools will be totally different and so will the quality of service in Decatur. Just my thoughts, think about what you are doing before it comes back a bite you. just so you know......

All About Legacy

Why annexation such a large portion into the City of Decatur? It is about legacy. What kind of accomplishments has Peggy Merriss and Bill Floyd done for the City of Decatur for the last 30 years. What better way to go out in style and retire. Peggy Merris started working for the City in 1983. She will have 30 years in by May of 2013. By annexing a large portion of commercial property for the City she would be the only sitting City Manager to ever get it done. It has been rumoured that she is having problems getting more home owners on board her dream of a big City. She has asked that a letter be sent to every home owner in the Areas that are being considered for Annexation. It is unclear what is being said in the letter to the home owners to make them want to be annexed into the City. The City Citizens of Decatur will have to wait and hear about it.