Before a standing-room-only crowd at the Catholic Church of St. Ann Thursday night, the new face of what had been a stealth East Cobb cityhood group faced plenty of skepticism and more than a few barbed questions as the effort to incorporate part of the community was presented to the public for the first time.
David Birdwell, a real estate entrepreneur who lives in the Atlanta Country Club area, spoke to more than 500 people crammed into a parish hall, admitting that there’s a lot he still has to learn.
But for many in the public who’ve been frustrated by a lack of information coming from the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb, Commissioner Bob Ott’s town hall meeting was a chance to demand answers that are still to be determined.
Some questioned the motives, others wondered about whether their taxes would go up and some worried about the impact on public schools.
On the tax issue, Birdwell was clear: He pledged there would be no increase in taxes, and noted that of the 10 most recent areas to become cities in metro Atlanta, nine have not raised taxes since they incorporated.
“I am not for a tax increase and I wouldn’t be standing here if I thought there would be one,” Birdwell said.
Some citizens groaned at that statement, and they broke out into wild applause when East Cobb resident Ki Porter wanted to know why there was “such a rush” to file local legislation calling for a referendum.
The cityhood group wants to have a referendum in 2020, and state law requires a two-year process. State Rep. Matt Dollar, an East Cobb Republican, said at the town hall he would be filing the bill on Friday, on the second-to-last day of the Georgia General Assembly.
With citizens lining the wall of the parish hall, and some even sitting on the floor, Birdwell methodically repeated some of the cityhood group’s reasons for wanting to create a municipality.
Mostly, it’s about more local control of government. Ott serves a population of 185,000 as one of four Cobb district commissioners, and he’s repeatedly said some of his constituents have complained to him that they don’t think they’re getting their tax money’s worth in public services.
It’s a similar argument that’s being made by community leaders in Mableton, who have had a local cityhood bill introduced in the legislature.
Related coverage
- East Cobb News Cityhood information page
- Coming Sunday on East Cobb News: Cityhood backers face challenge convincing the public
The East Cobb map would include only a portion of the community, Ott’s District 2 that’s east of I-75 and in unincorporated Cobb, excluding the Cumberland CID area.
That’s still 97,000 people, and would make up the eighth-largest city in Georgia if it becomes a municipality.
The cityhood group commissioned a financial feasibility study that focused on three areas of services that may be provided: Police, fire and community development (which also includes zoning), and concluded that the proposed City of East Cobb can be created without a tax increase, and even start with a multi-million-dollar budget surplus.
“East Cobb is about built-out,” Birdwell told the crowd. “We want to decide what comes here, not Cobb County.
“We’ve seen great things happen in other cities. It’s about preserving and enhancing what we’ve got in East Cobb.”
Porter told East Cobb News after the meeting she’s been living in the area since 1980 and remained skeptical of the “no new taxes” pledge. She noted that a recent referendum failed on Skidaway Island because cityhood leaders there would not place a guarantee in the proposed city charter against a tax increase.
That’s what she wanted Birdwell to address, and another citizen told her “you hit the nail on the head.”
“I’m not for anything where there’s smoke and mirrors,” Porter said.
A few signs in the crowd alluded to that concern, with one saying “Our taxes are definitely going up.”
Each of the existing six Cobb municipalities have higher general fund millage rates than unincorporated Cobb.
Birdwell said that earlier on Thursday, he was encouraged after meeting with the assistant city manager in Milton, which has held the line on property taxes.
He also told the East Cobb audience the north Fulton city has improved services, including public safety, which has been the subject of new concerns in Cobb over staffing levels, salary and retention.
Birdwell said there will be several forthcoming town hall meetings with the public to continue the cityhood discussion, starting April 29 at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church.
The cityhood group is revising its website and is asking for volunteers as it continues to gauge public reaction.
“We don’t have a lot of answers right now,” Birdwell said, adding that after 22 years as a resident of East Cobb, he is certain about one thing: “This makes enough sense to explore.”
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Using Milton as an example discounts this group immediately in my eyes. Milton does not have the density of East Cobb and has significantly higher property values. They currently have no reason to increase taxes. He’s comparing apples and oranges. We haven’t lived in EC long but if we wanted to live in one of those Saran Wrap areas, we would have moved there. I do not trust this group’s motives.
Nothing is EVER “about built out.” This group, made up of real estate and developers and political activists, has their own plans for east Cobb that apparently don’t jive with the Cobb County Commission’s land plan, which was devised in the 1980s and does not fit THEIR OWN narrative for what east Cobb should become. This IS smoke and mirrors, and some people are going to benefit from this scheme, while others will just have to live with whatever this group’s vision is. Does this group want Agenda 21 type development? More high rises (think the new elevator testing building planned for the SunTrust Park area?), parceling up of older (less desireable?) neighborhoods for sparkling NEW development (think what they did along the perimeter in the Mt. Vernon Rd. area). If east Cobb votes for this, we won’t even recognize ourselves in ten years.