Friday, September 7, 2018

Dunwoody vs Brookhaven


The Dunwoody Reporter quoted that Dunwoody, population 49,000, land area is 13.17 square miles, city revenue was stuck at $24 million, but Brookhaven, population 52,000, land area is 12 square miles, city revenue was $41 million. The average household income for Dunwoody GA is listed at $113,448 for 2018 and the average household income for Brookhaven GA is listed at $116,793.

The bottom line of the article was that the Dunwoody city budget was maxed out. There was enough money to support the new construction of parks and ball fields, but no further projects should be planned.

At first, I thought Brookhaven may have a rogue appraiser, but a little research revealed that may not be the reason for the disparity in city revenue.

The average price of a home in Brookhaven Ga in August 2018 was $516,000.  The average price of a home in Dunwoody GA in August 2018 was $454,000. But that doesn’t account for the difference in city revenue.

The difference is in the higher number of new homes built in Brookhaven that were in the $600,000 to $800.000 range. These homes were developments that are hidden from the main roads you use when driving through and around Brookhaven.

Dunwoody simply has a larger number of less expensive single family homes than Brookhaven. These are older homes, built in the 1960s and 1970s and most are well maintained and upgraded. Dunwoody has had “in-fill” developments, but most of these are smaller homes and smaller developments of more expensive homes.

Brookhaven had larger developments of big, high-priced homes because developers were able to buy all the older homes, level the area and build new large homes.

Dunwoody is still behind on road restoration and intersection expansions, but they have squandered money on bike lanes, multi-use paths for MARTA, subsidies for non-profits, tax holidays for State Farm, deforestation in flood plains, subsidies for Weiland, uncalled-for legal settlements, abusive UN Agenda 21 ordinances, unnecessary land use plans, zoning plans and design expenses. They have increased city revenue with unnecessary permits, inspections, fees and fines.

Chamblee land area is 7.8 square miles and Doraville land area is 3.6 square miles. On the other hand, Sandy Springs land area is 38.53 square miles and they have the economies of scale to do whatever they want.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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