Hasty Retreat

Why is it that city bigwigs must run off somewhere (other than here) to talk the big talk and plan the big plans? Is that because there'll not be very many citizens OF Dunwoody there? Of course the big, if not the biggest topic was how they take more of your money. Does greed know any limits?

Apparently not.

Their biggest debate wasn't whether to pilfer your purse or not, but rather how to do it. One proposal was to simply raise the millage rate by removing the current limit by ordinance, IE: without your vote. The other was to create "special" tax district, in an effort to disguise a tax as something else. One is what we're accustomed to, politicians raising taxes, and the other a bit more clever, raising taxes by adding a new mechanism, and allowing the political prevarication of staying under the millage limit. Wait until they disclose this is not either-or and they do both. 

Unlike Atlanta where Dickens has asked for departments to report on the impact of 5%, 7.5% and 10% budget cuts, Dunwoody fixates on higher taxes. Clearly, city staffing, operational costs and mission has expanded without much in the way of  restraint. And why should there be any restrain? Spending OPM is fun, and gives staffers increasingly valuable connections. And we, as voters, have been asleep at the wheel, electing promise-breakers who are addicted to spend-then-tax. Shame on them, but not without shame on us. 

But there are other options, ones this city would consider their kryptonite, but should be up for discussion nonetheless. How about we stop giving enormous tax breaks to developers? After all we're sitting on some of the hottest property in the southeast, and they should be competing for the chance to build here. In fact, they should be paying. It's called "impact fees," and developers should be paying for the costs their, highly profitable, development imposes on existing taxpayers. Have you heard mayor or council suggest anything faintly resembling this? Didn't think so. 

We're Doomed

No, this is not about George Washington's warning about political parties, though he was spot on, nor about Twain's observation about anti-semites, as he was only half-right. This is about a hesitant walk thru the valley of the shadow of death known as fecebook. It is, as you might assume, best to visit infrequently as this keeps your sensibilities intact, but when you do it is a terrifying place. Truly frightening were recent comments to a post regarding Decatur City Schools capping the lunch bar tab at three.

So much to unpack.

Far too many commenters had no clue that Decatur City Schools are not part of the DeKalb County School system and proceeded to rail against DeKalb Schools. Not that DeKalb isn't a festering cesspool of problems, but the issue at hand was a completely different school system. 

Others seemed offended that there was a limit on the bar tab, and to be clear, the tapped out students still got a lunch, it was just a cheese sandwich and not a cafeteria lunch. Very likely this is cheese from the government stockpile supporting dairy farmers, and really, who doesn't like a cheese sandwich? The lactose intolerant?

And it wouldn't be complete without someone trotting out the old trope about "no learning when hungry," parroting one of the agenda factory's favorite talking points. Worthy of note is that neither the commenter nor the factory take this to the next step of observing that sleepy, or sleeping, kids cannot learn, then using this to justify public boarding schools. One must wonder why these agendas pull up short.

And the most frightening part? These folks vote.

And You're Being Lied To

But you should be used to it by now. 

Remember the halcyon days, the before days, when Dunwoody Yes! and Citizens for Dunwoody put on a full court press to convince you that a city means "a better Dunwoody." You were told the city could operate on a $18M annual budget and they had the CVI study to prove it. That was a lie. You were told you'd get better services at a lower cost. Now look at the legal costs just to defend an out-of-control police department. You were lied to. You were promised that a city would clamp down on rampant apartment development and now you have a highly compensated bureaucrat telling you "The demand for apartments is significant. We need more of that here [in Dunwoody Village] and Perimeter," begging the questions of demand by whom and just who are "we"? But there is no question that you were lied to. 

And the lying is not in decline. 

Now you're being told it is a $60M bond, but you're not being told it is a $100M debt. Debt is what you're obligated to pay and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Anyone who fails to mention the true magnitude of this debt is also lying. 

Do you really like being lied to?