Jacobs: City of Brookhaven is Opportunity for Locals to 'Control Your Own Space'

Lower Taxes. Increased police presence. Local zoning control.

These are issues State Rep. Mike Jacobs espoused to a crowd of nearly 200 as benefits to Brookhaven becoming its own city Tuesday night at . Jacobs, a Republican, introduced legislation in the General Assembly and said it would likely be voted on in Spring 2012.

Jacobs reiterated findings from the feasibility study completed by the Georgia State University's Carl Vinson institute which concluded that not only would the city be able to sustain itself based on the 28.5 million in revenue, that it could perhaps look at lowering taxes or using the more than $3 million surplus for other services.

"This is the opportunity for you to control your own local space and to have local elected officials who live in your neighborhood or any immediated vacinity who are to impacted by the zoning decisions they make," Jacobs said.

Other beneifts he noted were:

• The millage rate cap of 6.39 mils unless residents vote to increase it. This option, he said, is not available in DeKalb County.
• The ability to determine homestead exemptions
• Local control over zoning issues, using the controversial installation of the billboard on Peachtree Road as an example.
• Increase in police presence. Jacobs said DeKalb County averages three to five officers per shift, while the minimum number of Brookhaven officers would be seven per shift. [Maj. Ellison, commander of DeKalb County's north precinct refutes this claim and posted on Patch that based on the map of the study area, he has anywhere from six to twelve officers patrolling the area.]

But even after Jacobs noted the potential benefits, many residents like Deborah Anthony wants proponents of the idea to slow down.

"I urge you to take a step back, take a deep breath, let us get out of this economic downturn that we're in and see if it's something that we really want," Anthony said. "Time, we've got lots of."

Ashford Park Civic Association president Ronnie Mayer agreed. Initially, staunchly against the proposal, he said he is more opened to the idea but agred that the process was being ushered along too quickly.

"If everybody wants it, it's not going anywhere," he siad.

Meanwhile, Jacobs said he is continuing to move forward with the plan and that the the city could be up for approval by voters in September 2012.

Citizens for North DeKalb, the community group that raised funds to finance the $27,000 for the study, will speak with community groups to explain the study's findings and answer questions. Jacobs said he, too, is open to continued dialogue.