Georgia continues
to rank 8th among the 50 States in Nominal GDP with $640 billion in
2019 and 602 billion in 2018.
State of
Georgia Government Spent $27.5 billion in 2019.
Healthcare
36% $9.9 billion
Education
22% $6.05 billion
Pensions
17% $4.68 billion
Transportation
8% $2.2 billion
Welfare
5% $1.375 billion
Protection
5% $1.375 billion
Government
2% $55 million
Interest
1% $27.5 million
$9
billion for Public Schools
$2.4
billion for GA University System
$374
million for GA Technical Schools
Government
Spending in Georgia
Category Total
– State -
Local
Education $30.8B
$9.0B $21.9B
Healthcare $18.9B
$14.4B $4.5B
Other $11.9B $1.5B
$10.4B
Pensions $7.5B
$6.7B $0.9B
Transportation
$6.9B $3.3B $3.7B
Protection $6.8B
$2.7B $4.7B
Government $4.1B
$1.0B $3.1B
Welfare $2.7B $1.9B
$0.9B
Interest $1.6B
$0.5B $1.1B
Total $91.4B $40.3
$51.1B
Education
and Healthcare are over-subsidized and underperforming. Pensions need to be
converted to 401Ks. Public Transportation needs to be privatized.
Metro
Atlanta ignored expanding roads and highways to support its population growth
from 3 million in 1980 to 6 million in 2020. The cost of milling and
resurfacing asphalt roads was $75,000 per lane-mile in 2010 and doubled to
$150,000 per lane-mile in 2012. It is now $350,000 per lane-mile in 2020.
Atlanta blamed the EPA for issuing a moratorium on road construction in the
1970s, but Jimmy Carter ignored the idiocy of this moratorium.
Metro
Atlanta is a dangerous place to drive. There is no highway grid, just an
overcrowded I-285 circle. There is no outer bypass, so interstate trucks crowd
the highways. Highways are choked with toll-lanes and disappearing open lanes.
Lane changing to exit causes daily accidents that further add to gridlock.
Street addresses on the main roads are hard to see and drivers struggle to find
their destinations making street travel hazardous. I-75 and I-85 run through
downtown Atlanta and the I-285 bypass is a circle around the city. Atlanta
Metro includes DeKalb and Fulton counties. The population of DeKalb is 752,088
and Fulton is 1,038,844. The suburban counties include Cobb 752,783 and
Gwinnett 918,153. The 4 counties have a total population 3,461,868.
Atlanta
GA Weather - Atlanta
GA has mild Winters with Lows at night in the mid-30s and Highs in the daytime
in the mid-50s. Atlanta GA has Hot, Humid Summers, but the trade-off is above
average rainfall. Lawns are green and flowers bloom year-round.
Atlanta
GA Average Temperatures by Season
Winter
December
37F- 54F
January
34F - 52F
February
38F- 57F
Spring
March
44F-65F
April
52F-73F
May
60F-80F
Summer
June
60F-86F
July
71F-89F
August
71F-88F
Fall
September
65F-82F
October
54F-73F
November
45F-64F
Humidity
in Atlanta GA averages 68 with 82 in the morning and 52 in the afternoon.
Atlanta gets moisture from the Gulf and the West. Atlanta gets colder dry air
from the North and West.
Elevation
in Atlanta GA is 1050 feet above sea level. There are fewer bugs, more wind and
less humidity than lower elevations..
Rainfall
in Atlanta averages 50 inches per year, but was 70 inches in 2018.
City
of Dunwoody GA 2019 Spending - The City of Dunwoody was incorporated to
provide road and storm sewer maintenance, zoning, city ordinances and police.
DeKalb County provides public schools, fire protection, trash removal and water
& sewer maintenance.
Dunwoody’s
date of Incorporation was December 1, 2008
It
included a land area of 13.2 square miles. It was formed as a City Manager form
of government municipality. Total Adopted Fiscal Year 2019 Budget: $37.1
million. Expenses and Revenues in 2019 totaled $24,991,606.
Expenses
2019
Police
$9,417,816
Finance
Admin $3,055,368
Parks
$2,790,314
Public
Works $2,627,515
Community
Development $1,949,073
Information
Technology $1,462,502
Municipal
Court $678,891
Marketing
$579,546
City
Manager $512,804
City
Attorney $410,000
Human
Resources $409,133
Economic
Development $300,000
City
Council $275,545
City
Clerk $269,652
911
Service $125,000
Contingency
$100,000
Total
$24,991,606
Revenue
2019
Taxes
$21,246,750
Licenses
Permits $1,631,000
Fines
Forfeitures $1,200,000
Charges
for Services $546,250
Miscellaneous
$305.606
Investment
Income $50,000
Donations
$12,000
Total
$24,991,606
Public
Works maintains 310 lane-miles of roads, 69 linear miles of sidewalks, 69 miles
of stormwater pipes, 18,700 stormwater structures, 60 traffic signals and 4,000
traffic signs.
Public
Works 2019 - Completed 16 lane miles of paving resulting in more than 50
percent of the city’s roads being paved since incorporation. Constructed
sidewalks on Womack Road, Dunwoody Club Drive, Central Parkway and Ashford
Gables Drive. Completed construction plans for Roberts Drive improvements at
the new Austin Elementary School.
Public
Works: - 2019 Resurfacing ($3.8 million) • Peachtree Industrial Blvd Access
Road Sidewalk (Grant Match) ($50,000) • Mt. Vernon Road at Tilly Mill Road
Intersection Improvements ($300,000) • Roberts Drive Improvements for New
Austin Elementary ($1.85 million) • New Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer
System Permit Coordinator position.
Public
Works resurfacing of roads for car and truck traffic and expanding stormwater
systems should be priority items, but they aren’t. The City has resurfaced 50% of the roads over
the past 12 years and will complete resurfacing in another 12 years. The plan
for 2020 is to resurface 10 lane-miles of road for $3.5 million; that’s
$350,000 per lane-mile heavily subsidized by State and Federal Grants. The war
on cars continues. Narrow Bike Lanes, Multi-Use Paths and MARTA buses remain
empty. Drivers get a $1000 fine if they fail to maintain a 6 foot distance from
bikers using their 2 foot lanes. This
requires drivers to enter the on-coming lane.
New overpriced Intersections include on-street curb hazards. Roads are
not configured to prevent accidents. Like the rest of Metro Atlanta, commercial
addresses are hard to see or completely missing. Commuter density continues to
increase with over-development.
Failure
to pay auto insurance premiums on time can result in a $1,300 fine.
Installation of water heaters and other mechanical appliances requires a
permit, inspection and fee.
Property
owners are restricted from performing their own construction and require
permits or pay fines. Minor traffic violations can result in a $300 to $500
fine. Police calls can result in arrest and incarceration. Heart attack victims
require immediate CPR.
I cannot
recommend that unincorporated areas would benefit much from forming a city
until voters compare the relative costs of fees, fines, permits, zoning,
excessive easements, ordinances and restrictions.
City
Councils slavishly follow recommendations from the City Manager and City Staff.
They defer to “the experts” and authorize excessive use of crony contractors
and consultants. Project re-dos to
correct shoddy work are common. Building
code enforcement inspections are fraught with errors. Voters have absolutely no say in what City
Councils spend, borrow or do.
The UN
Agenda 21 playbook Georgia homeowners are subjected to has no restrictions on
how much local government can spend or borrow, increases invasions of privacy
and diminishes property rights.
DeKalb
County GA Budget 2019 - Dunwoody GA is a municipality in DeKalb County GA. Dunwoody
relies on DeKalb County to provide Fire Protection, Water and Trash Removal and
relies on DeKalb School System to provide public schools. Water and Sewer is
billed to homeowners. Other services are billed to residents as Property Tax. The population of DeKalb County GA is 752,088
The
DeKalb County Budget for 2019 was $1.3 billion and included $112 million to pay
for unfunded pensions. County employees are paid $15/hour or more.
Homeowners
can receive a “Homestead Exemption” on their Property Tax worth $900 on a
$250,000 home.
DeKalb
offers a “Senior Discount” homeowners can apply for at age 70.5 to remove their
County School Tax from their Property Tax bill and reduce their property taxes
by $4,000 per year.
The
DeKalb Public School System Budget was approved at $1.2 billion.
18 High
Schools, 18 Middle Schools, 102 Elementary Schools. 102,000 Students, 6,000
Teachers, 14,000 Staff.
Cost per
Student $11,764. The quality of these schools is completely dependent on the
quality of the students who are enrolled.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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