Dunwoody City Council considers maintaining millage rate at 3.04

The Dunwoody City Council considered at its first and second public hearings regarding its intent to hold the millage rate steady at 3.04.

The first hearing was at 8 a.m. on June 15, and the second was a few hours later at its regular 6 p.m. meeting. A final hearing will be held on July 1 before it is adopted.

Finance Director Richard Platto said Dunwoody’s millage rate is the lowest in DeKalb County. Brookhaven and Tucker are proposing millage rate increases in their upcoming budgets.

The City of Dunwoody budget will include a one-mill reduction for all homestead properties, lowering the effective rate to 2.040.

Several speakers during public comment complained about increases in their homes’ values, but Mayor Lynn Deutsch pointed out that DeKalb County School District taxes account for about 80 percent of a typical Dunwoody homeowner’s bill.

In other action, Economic Development Director Michael Starling reported on the city’s Holiday HQ budget, asking for an additional $15,000 to fabricate, install, and remove snowflakes on light poles around the city during the holiday season.

The council voted 5-1 to approve the expenditure, with Council Member Stacey Harris casting the dissenting vote.

The council also discussed a proposal to add bicycle lanes on Ashford Center Parkway, thus reducing both lanes from two to one to accommodate the addition. Several residents during public comment said the lane reduction would be detrimental to the ingress and egress on the already-congested roadway.

Deputy Public Works Manager Michelle Hirose said the city will hold a meeting next winter to get citizen feedback, followed by final design and concept presentation.

The city staff asked the council to approve a contract with Kimley Horn & Associates for $75,000, which will include concept design, alternative analysis, traffic analysis, drainage analysis, and public engagement.

Deutsch said she wanted to ensure that a traffic study would be conducted first to ensure that the lane reductions are the best plan, which Hirose said would be the first step.

“I have concerns that we are putting the horse before the court, and we need a traffic study first,” she said. “I worry that we might get so far down the road that we might say ‘we didn’t do this right.'”

Council Member John Heneghan said he also disagrees with the move, saying that he believes it may contribute to higher congestion in light of future development on the roadway. The council did not vote on the concept as it was a discussion item.

“I’m not happy with the plan I see on paper right now,” he said. “I think it’s a lot of overreach.”

The council also:

• heard Eric Linton’s city manager report regarding crime, economic development, and city-sponsored events in May;
• commended Lt. Jason Dove, who recently graduated from Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command;
• introduced a 60-pound female Lifeline Animal Showcase dog who is available for adoption;
• voted 4-2, with Deutsch and Heneghan dissenting, to engage Dewberry Engineers to design the Windwood Hollow Park basin;

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