Like max?

Yes, she has withdrawn from the State House race. And don't ascribe your cynicism to her. You might recall the saying "all politics are local" and now, Brookhaven is as local as it gets. I am extremely happy, and relieved, that she has chosen to run for mayor.

Irony: criticizing someone else's convictions while standing behind the curtain of anonymity.

She did not want to Lose for the Second time for State House,Lets hope J Max will cause her to lose the first election in Our City.

"From the Brookhaven Charter re Council people..."---Eric

Since the illicit birth of C4ND, you are, I see, not only still attempting to reconcile this shotgun marriage but now also attempting to legitimize it.

Without even the benefit of---What's that TV geek's name? Murry?---a paternity test proving fatherhood to anyone even local to the neighborhoods effected.

"So unless there is a different prohibition in the state rules..."---Eric

Still miring all current issues to codified rule and even the presumption of any.

Not or ever the very precepts of our laws.

She must decide one or the other, if not already, now.

She cannot seek two masters.

As it is, I'm sure that disqualification for being a candidate for the first office declared is automatic upon declaring herself a candidate for a second, other office.

I would suspect it was a sudden decision given, in part, the fluctuating qualification dates reported,not leaving time to remove herself from running for State Representative and, likewise, respective campaign website.

Or, given the course of this cityhooding from the beginning, maybe not.

"Let the Games Begin!."---Phil

Is that your promise?

Mean Spirit or Recreational Discourse

by Stan

If there was one concern I had leading up to the Brookhaven referendum, it was that a number of folks posting on the online blogs, and writing in the local newspaper were not just committed to reasonable discourse. That’s right, this was not just discussion of the pros and cons of incorporation but rather a mean spirited campaign by a few people in our community.

I wanted to think that the discussion was recreational and the debate served to improve the process by airing various points of view. It’s become clear to me that the discussion was mean spirited and personal. It has morphed from name calling and outrageous claims of conspiracy, to personal attacks on the candidates.

If you donated your time and money to Citizens for North DeKalb or BrookhavenYES it must have been for personal gain. The cynical people who write over silly nom de guerres on blogs do not understand the spirit of community service that our neighbors exhibited.

The online blogs, the Patch being the worst of the ilk, should be boycotted until they exhibit the responsible behavior of media editing. Online forums do not give you the right to attack and be mean spirited.

Brookhaven deserves better.

"...by Stan..."---Hamburger

What has happened to Stan?

The last post from him that I recall, given "secret ballot," asked how it could be known how anyone voted.

He may have been worried rather than critical.

I have no issue with Ms Murray running for mayor. As I said, I would like to hear her explanation.

"I would like to hear her explanation."---Stan

Mike Jacobs, and the Pub 71 politcal clique, having District 80's House seat may be explanation enough.

That is if Sandy in not a member of that clique also.

I would think just what candidates she actively supported in the "past seven years" could---one way or the other---serve as explanation.

Stan,
Have you not considered the tremendous value of having an elected executive who will be able to honestly face the Citizens and point out the lofty service promises and impossible reductions in taxes are not possible?

Would you rather have an executive who will hew to the 'yesser' line while the available funds evaporate?

That is a Easy question to answer,she and the late in Dist. 2,wants Yes voter ,to be Sorry for our vote.

It is a State House seat that she has not won.
No reason to withdraw from either.

"It is a State House seat that she has not won. No reason to withdraw from either."---Eddie E.

Sorry, but that cannot legally be the case for the same reason that she cannot have her name even appearing on a ballot twice for one office much less two offices.

Given the outrageous course of this cityhood[wink]ing however, I will now consider running not only for Mayor but also, and simultaneously, Counselperson, State Rep, Governor, President of the USA, Secretary General of the UN and Supreme Commander of the World Bank---any codified rule not withstanding.

As such, I hope I can count on your vote(s).

don G,
As long as you don't vote for me, I'm cool.

Will we have the option of 'Nobody' on the ballot? I'm assuming normal 'write-in' rules will apply.

Have you considered appropriate Counsel for a nullification suit?
I think I have someone interested.

"...I'm assuming normal 'write-in' rules will apply."---Eddie E.

That would be quite an assumption given the primary vote had a "write-in" option when, according to the poll manager, there should not have been---much less a built in cross-voting capablity.

"Have you considered appropriate Counsel for a nullification suit?
I think I have someone interested."---Eddie E.

They'd have to be very brave and work pro-bono.

Would the Counsel be still intereted?

don G
I will get the particulars tomorrow.
Mikey has angered so many people in the past, it is not unusual that they would be ready to step forward today to right a terrible injustice.

"You gonna lose your pants."---Roger That

A small price to pay.

Even with your nose to your flashlight.

"...they would be ready to step forward today to right a terrible injustice..."---Eddie E.

That should read injustices. No?

As for the many others stepping forward? Don't have the Counselor count on it.

"I am pleased we have more than one choice...."---Sherean Malezadeh Allen

A major feature of 'corporatist' governance is to co-opt real opposition or even invent apparent oppostion.

In that regard, it is up to Sandy to instill confidence (or not) and not, no matter how well intended, by anyone's presumption.

Working of an idea raised by a No City poster here that up to December there is an avenue for nullification of the city vote:

Could a No City candidate upon election seek to take steps to either change the services undertaken by the city, to revoke the city, or alter it to a Township, or delay the take over of services from the county on said Candidates sincere belief that we are better off with DeKalb County continuing to provide most or all of the services which we believe the City will take over? After all as pointed out the Charter does not dictate the services the City must provide, just what it can.

And by sincere belief they would feel this is the best way to achieve what is best for everyone.

"Working of an idea raised by a No City poster here that up to December there is an avenue for nullification of the city vote..."---Eric:

What do you mean by just "No City poster"?

Can't bring yourself to say "don Gabacho"?

"Could a No City candidate upon election seek to take steps to either change the services undertaken by the city, to revoke the city, or alter it to a Township, or delay the take over of services from the county on said Candidates sincere belief that we are better off with DeKalb County continuing to provide most or all of the services which we believe the City will take over? After all as pointed out the Charter does not dictate the services the City must provide, just what it can."---Eric

Only as the last resort to the course taken to achieve cityhood as, at the least, a matter of self-defense.

But there is still legal recourse.

So far hinging still on the perception that it is more important to have a city, even to hold it accountable, than how the cityhood was arrived at.

Despite it being in the' how' that is paramont; a 'how' that, if we let stand, will plague us and even our children indefinitely on any and every issue of our governance to come...

...In either case, legitmate recourse now or last resort soon, neither is a matter to co-opt by lulling anyone that a last resort scenario-only can and should be sufficient when enough of those who take office can be, at the very least, impossiby burdened by merely having office in an ill-gotten city.

I suspect that the time left for recourse prior to any even hope of a last-ditch resort, will come to end when this city contracts any perceptible enforcers in lieu of DeKalb County police under the sole supervision of DeKalb County.

The sooner recognized and treated, the better.

LOL, give up don, Brookhaven has approved incorporation, it is greener pastures we are headed for, more insulated from the DeKalb Democrat bureacracy.

It is a new age, old timer, you will see.

"...you will see."---Dean

I already have.

It is utterly demented and brutal.

Nothing prescient about it.

Dean,
What a sick and demented hostility you seem to have against your Democrat neighbors.
Remember, the polls still work south of Peachtree, and they never vote for republicans.

"...Democrat neighbors..."---Eddie E.

I'm not a Democrat.

In what I've had to learn the very hard way---this State being an absolute nuthouse---I'm apolitical; and proud of it.

don G,
As a proud and unrepentant Socialist, I can't vote repug under any circumstances.

'Success or failure', the engineering firm hired to provide all the services will still get paid.

As far as requests for proposals, did you mean the ones that have already been agreed upon or the ones that will be accepted to make the process look proper?

As far as 'service' the yessers promised 'police, parks, zoning, roads' and a tax cut.
No reason to let them off the hook for ANYTHING.

Make it work as promised or repeal it and accept defeat.

Eddie a tax cut from what?

Clearly there will not be a tax cut from the last DeKalb calculation of taxes that raised the millage rate on DeKalb Residents that live in a city.

I still don't understand how DeKalb can suddenly raise the fire department millage rate by 30% and lower the police millage rate by 37% without more documentation or without more public comment. At any rate because of that change publicized towards the end of this city hood campaign the city of Brookhaven will not have a lower millage rate for homeowners. Heck even Dunwoody doesn't. Though Brookhaven will have a lower tax rate than DeKalb for commercial properties. Which is perhaps a good thing since the criticism was that we didn't have enough commercial space.

Though I do fully expect that Brookhaven will set its millage rate comfortably below the millage cap of 3.35. And will ask the candidates if that will be a priority for them.

We can still raise spending on parks over what DeKalb has been spending, build some more sidewalks and have more police coverage and keep the millage rate under well under 3.35.

Eric, the shift in taxation by the DeKalb Democrat bureacracy is not legal, this will lead to a lawsuit similar to the one recently settled by Gwinnett.

http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/gwinnett-to-pay-millions-1336919.html

Mr. Dean, check again, I do not believe this is what you think it is. Gwinnett may have actually billed cities for services they already provide. DeKalb may have increased millage rates to recoup costs related to servicing incorporated areas. Comparing this issue to DeKalb is one thing, taking exception to DeKalb’s fee structure is another. This is where community involvement with the county comes into play. Remember, you are still in DeKalb County. Have a beef with your county government? Get involved!

Please pass the yellow mustard!

The majority of voters in Brookhaven had "a beef" with the Dekalb Democrat bureaucracy, and we did something about it at the polls.

Eric,
I never said it was possible, I am just repeating what was SOLD.
From the first meeting little mike had at the Methodist Church, the hot sell was 'lower taxes'.
It was SOLD to a group who values lower taxes over the next breath.
And they have been SOLD a bag of air.
No lower taxes here.
What other of the big four lies will be next?

Dean,
There's that pathetic hostility against Democrats again.
Are you that angry that President Obama will win re-election handily?

Yea though I would like to see some sort of accounting to just how the millage rate is allocated or should I say how the property tax revenues are allocated.

Obviously property tax revenues are just one portion of the revenues.

Looking at my just received tax bill I notice how the county operations portion of the tax bill is 10.5 mils with police and fire being 3.7 and 3.3 respectively. I understand there is a lot of stuff in that general operations bucket including Courts, Sheriff, Jail and the CEO/Commissioner apparatus, but we should look at breaking those out further.

As more of the county incorporates this seems to be a necessary exercise. After all at most the Brookhaven Millage is 3.35 yet the County portion is another 20 or so mils reduced by whatever the HOST credit is that year.

Eddie, Yes I know that's what you are saying. You didn't follow what i said. The taxes will be lower than the level they were at when the intial statement of lower taxes was made.

What I'm saying is that now that DeKalb has shifted the allocation of the millage rate its not clear whose taxes will be lower. But that's an 11th hour development.

Eric,
Thanks.
Now that the tax cut is off the table, which of the four 'services' peddled in the big lie will disappear?
For those holding tenaciously to the thread of 'free market efficiency' providing the magic to make things work, see today's latest announcement from our dear friends at GA Power.

I said it earlier this year and it was one of the reasons I was against another city. History has shown the county will raise taxes to make up for lost tax money to the cities. IMHO, counties and cities are structured to compete so it makes sense to me to see a county shift taxes. I'm sure one of the county positions the county will assert is the unincoporated areas are home to the sewage plants, garbage dumps , jail and other unpleasant items and the cities aren't so pay up or the cry of environmental classism will be raised; although I believe the recession has just made things more expensive. The reality is now that we are a city the county politicians do not really care what we think about taxes. Some interesting reading, " with the county’s 2012 millage rate of 10.12 mills for unincorporated home­owners, Brookhaven residents will likely pay 11.78 mills." Mary Swint-Cross Roads News Aug10, '12 and "Sen. Fran Millar cautioned Dunwoody officials to consider the toll the incorporation of Brookhaven and declining real estate values....“Don’t delude yourself. Next year, DeKalb County is going to raise taxes a lot,” Millar said. “Just get ready for it because they’re going to try to get it back.”-D’woody Reporter 08/09/12. IMHO, I like politicians and government as far away from me as possible but if tide washes in "local control" then I'd prefer a township like the representative previously proposed.

Eddie, I agree private corporations have inefficiencies also. And I certainly would not want a private corporation providing police service, jails (shoot that's already happening) or regulation of Banks and Wall Street (shoot that might as well be the case since they seemed like they were bought and sold). But I think there may be merit in outsourcing some items. Am I concerned about saving money on the backs of workers? Sure, but frankly this country's middle class is under a far greater attack by outsourcing and misguided tax and regulatory policies. Yet many still blame the problem on government over reach or spending (even though spending has been cut at the very time when it should be going up or remaining stable to support rather than negate the just slow recovery in the private sector).

EGA I agree with your analysis of the danger of the shift by the county of its costs on those living in incorporated areas. The easiest way to deal with it will be to go try to pursue the course taken in Fulton, so that it becomes easier to identify just what services the county government provides and thus monitor the expenses.

However, even without pursuing that course we are in a position to get DeKalb to further itemize just where the tax revenues go and the costs of each department to better understand and deal with waste.

The tax situation in DeKalb is inexcusable. HOST started out as a 100% credit. It was down to 46% and property taxes were raised 26%.

EGA, and do you know part of the reason why the credit was raised to 59%? True sales are increasing as the economy slowly recovers. But a huge boost was the fact that this year is the first year the county gets revenues from the HOST now being applied to groceries and other essential food items. Previous to 2011 HOST like the state sales tax did not apply to groceries, but due to some sort of interstate tax compact to simplify the number of taxing brackets the State Legislature changed the HOST to apply to groceries so it would be like the LOST taxes. What's disturbing is the difficulty in finding articles about this tax increase. The CEO has never acknowledged that. Instead they just stated it was thanks to strong HOST revenues.

I understand the need to simplify the tax brackets for interstate commerce and ecommerce but it is unfortunate that the HOST, that unlike LOST, benefits those in very expensive houses the most now is funded by placing an even greater burden on those who can afford it the least, including those who can only dream of being able to own their own home.

The vision that was voted for is fine. It is the cloudy vision off to the side that is the concern I believe. Because the majority of the creators of the vision hail from the North, and the majority of the votes to create the city came from the North, there is ample concern that changes enacted by the Northern controllers with a vision will have an adverse effect on those in the Southern half of the new city.

What is the vision for the Southern half of the city? Lots of talk about cleaning up the Buford highway corridor. You do realize that a forced cleanup of Buford highway will destroy city revenue. Change of this size and scope has to be taken in very small steps, otherwise you will end up with lots of vacancies that the local economy will not support or recover from in many decades. Decades is how long you are looking at a natural change of that entire area.

Start small, have that section of Buford Highway renamed to Chandelier Parkway, or J Max Davis Jr. Boulevard. Renaming problem areas does sort of mask the problems associated with that area. Of course, calling Buford Highway Brookhaven kind of makes all of Brookhaven look bad to those that are not in the know.

You didn't achieve anything Stan. You fool. Grow some testicles. Only 1 of the 4 districts passed your stupid jobs program. Good luck in getting Yes people elected in districts that were overwhelmingly no no no. Go take care of your personal business and write on your stupid blog. I thought you wanted to boycott the patch silly Stan.

Roger,
Stop.
Over.
10-4.
A Alpha AL-FAH
B Bravo BRAH-VOH
C Charlie CHAR-LEE
D Delta DELL-TAH
E Echo ECK-OH
F Foxtrot FOKS-TROT
G Golf GOLF
H Hotel HOH-TEL
I India IN-DEE-AH
J Juliet JEW-LEE-ETT
K Kilo KEY-LOH
L Lima. LEE-MAH
M Mike MIKE
N November NO-VEM-BER
O Oscar OSS-CAH
P Papa PAH-PAH
Q Quebec KEH-BECK
R Romeo ROW-ME-OH
S Sierra SEE-AIR-RAH
T Tango TANG-GO
U Uniform YOU-NEE-FORM
V Victor VIK-TAH
W Whiskey WISS-KEY
X X-Ray ECKS-RAY
Y Yankee YANG-KEY
Z Zulu Zoo-Loo

What's the matter Stan? Weren't we all invited? This is partly your doing and you will forever be held partially responsible and many of us are going to make damn sure no one ever fogets what you guys did. Shameful elitists.

"We voted to incorporate Brookhaven based on a model of outsourcing all employees except public safety."---Stan

Well. You had it backwards and still do.

We have no interest in employees being outsourced to Dunwoody, Chamblee, Sandy Springs, etc. while this goverance must not get its own enforcers too.

Pub 71 should be up for outsourcing though.

"Any candidate running for office needs to buy into that model."---Stan

Yet another demand for gleichschaltung.

Mr. Stan, all of what you have said is nothing but a thing . . .

Where is the Vinson Study, HB 636, and the Governors Commission tied together for official observation and implementation by the newly elected officials? You have known all along that none of this has anything to do with the final outlook of your new city!

WTF are you now complaining about?

If you wanted all of Brookhaven Yes’s desires incorporated into the new city, just why did not Rep. Mike Jacobs tie them all together?

Pass the yellow mustard!

"I lived in Belgium when the Berlin wall fell. The only thing dividing us..."---Roger That

So what?

Roge, Belgium is not in Germany.

"Two houses slapped together can not stand."---Abraham Adams

"Because the majority of the creators of the vision hail from the North...will have an adverse effect on those in the Southern half of the new city."---Bill Lowe

"You can scramble a single, double-yolked egg and it will still be scrambled eggs."---John Quincy Jefferson

I'll have mine sunny-side-up thank you.

Please pass the Gulden's.

Stan,
So will we all be expected to rise and salute to DEVO's 'Corporate Anthem' every morning?
The initial stirrings of what a terrible idea it really is to have the entire northern Fulton, Dekalb and Southwestern Gwinnett population dependent on a for-profit, parasitic entity.
Once they are all fully aware, I doubt the response will be quite what you expected.

Roger That
Neither 'the Americans' or their demented former leader 'ronnie ray-gun' had anything to do with the wall falling.
For some history, who was President when a Polish shipbuilder started the Citizen Realization that changed the world in Poland?
It wasn't ray-gun and it didn't have anything to do with the US.
It was brought about by Citizens willing to stand against the power and simply state 'You can shoot us but we are not going to tolerate this any more'.
Citizen action, it really, really works.

"The fall of the Wall was not "slapping two houses together."---Roger That

Roge, it was Humpty Dumpty who fell of the wall, not the wall falling off Humpty Dumpty.

Made for a great omelet though.

Pass the Belgium waffles if you will.

And the bosenberry syrup.

"Neither 'the Americans' or their demented former leader 'ronnie ray-gun' had anything to do with..." Eddie E.

"Two peas in a pod makes a pod not."---Confouncius

"Where you gonna put that cigar, Amanda?"---Roger That

"Two tortillas makes for one sloppy burrito." ---San Benito Ana

Pass the Pico de Gallo please.

RT,
Was the flashlight to find something lost in max?

"Need a flashlight?"---Roger That

"Two bulbs in your socket makes your tulip no brighter." ---Alexander T.Edison