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City of Tucker holding informational meetings about public works referendum

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City of Tucker holding informational meetings about public works referendum

Tucker City Hall. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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Tucker, GA — On Nov. 8, voters in the city of Tucker will have a chance to weigh in on whether the city should take over more services from DeKalb County.

The referendum will be on the same ballot as the Nov. 8 midterm elections, where voters will vote on state and federal offices.

If approved by voters, the city would be authorized to take over road construction and maintenance and stormwater management. Here’s the text of the ballot question:

Shall the City of Tucker be authorized to directly provide road construction and maintenance including curbs, sidewalks, street-lights, devices to control the flow of traffic, and stormwater management rather than rely upon DeKalb County to provide such services on its behalf and to levy and collect ad valorem property tax at a millage rate not to exceed 3 mills simultaneous with the ending of the collection of DeKalb County road and transportation special district ad valorem property tax?

To see the city’s informational webpage about the referendum, click here. The city of Tucker plans three informational meetings about the referendum ahead of the vote.

The meetings will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.

“All Public Works Referendum community meetings will be held in City Hall Council Chambers, 1975 Lakeside Parkway, Suite 350B and accessible online at //tuckerga.gov/pwmeeting,” the announcement from the city says.

Taking on these services would incur an additional cost for residents.

“If the public works referendum is approved by voters during the upcoming election, a homeowner with a property valued at $328,000 would see a projected increase of $94 annually for roads and maintenance services and stormwater services combined,” the city’s informational website says. “Businesses located within the City of Tucker would see proportionate increases as well.”

Here’s the full announcement from the city of Tucker about the referendum and upcoming public information meetings:

Tucker residents have several ways to learn more about the upcoming Public Works Referendum that could shift the day-to-day responsibilities of roads and maintenance, as well as stormwater services, under the City’s management.

The City has announced three, in-person community meetings on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. All Public Works Referendum community meetings will be held in City Hall Council Chambers, 1975 Lakeside Parkway, Suite 350B and accessible online at //tuckerga.gov/pwmeeting. The referendum will appear on the November 8 General Election ballot for Tucker residents.

A dedicated page on the City’s website has also launched to keep residents and business owners informed. The website provides up-to-date information including FAQs so factual information is just a click away. The City will provide outreach materials though a variety of means including direct mail and its other communication channels.

“The City of Tucker was formed to provide residents with more local control, including accountability for how our tax dollars are utilized in our community,” said Tucker Mayor Frank Auman. “After reviewing current public works service levels provided by DeKalb County, we voted as an elected body to put forth a referendum that, if approved, would keep tax dollars for these services within the City, substantially improve service delivery and better align efforts with our ongoing improvements.”

The City of Tucker has projected a homeowner with a property valued at $328,000 would see an average increase of $94 annually ($70 for roads and maintenance/$24 for stormwater) for the City to provide these services.  Businesses located within the City of Tucker would see a proportionate change as well. Similar to when Parks and Recreations services were transferred to the City, residents and businesses would no longer pay DeKalb County for the management of Public Works services.

If approved by residents during the November 8 General Election, combined public works services would transition to the City on July 1, 2023. “Within the first 365 days, our goals will be to prioritize deferred public works maintenance and address key repairs,” said City Manager Tami Hanlin. “If this shift in services takes place, we will develop a service delivery model that would ultimately reduce current repair and maintenance times by 50% by our second year of operations.”

Public Works services rendered under roads and maintenance include asphalt patching, pothole repairs, right-of-way maintenance, sidewalk and curb repairs, traffic sign/signal maintenance, bridge maintenance, pavement marking maintenance and transportation engineering services. Stormwater services include stormwater infrastructure and catch basin repairs.

Residents will have the opportunity to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the referendum during the General Election period, including absentee voting, advance voting and Election Day voting.

Key Dates to Remember:

NOWRequest Absentee Ballots (visit DeKalbVotes.com for details)
September 21, 2022Public Works Referendum Community Meeting #1 (7 p.m. at City Hall)
October 11, 2022Last Day to Register to Vote in November’s General Election
October 17, 2022First Day of Advance Voting (Registered voters can cast ballots at any advance voting site in DeKalb County.)
October 18, 2022Public Works Referendum Community Meeting #2 (10 a.m. at City Hall)
October 27, 2022Public Works Referendum Community Meeting #3 (7 p.m. at City Hall)
November 4, 2022Last Day of Advance Voting (Registered voters can cast ballots at any advance voting site in DeKalb County.)
November 8, 2022Election Day (Registered voters must vote at designated polling locations.)

The Tucker Observer is a community news website owned by Decaturish.comWe provide locally sourced news about Tucker, Clarkston and Stone Mountain.

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