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In response to Caleb Longstreets comments about how no companies want to move to the city of Atlanta and most of the office growth is in the northern suburbs...
"For 2010, overall net absorption totaled 308,459 square feet during the first three quarters of the year, JLL reports, the lion’s share of it (302,529 square feet) in the urban Downtown-Midtown-Buckhead portion of the market."
There's a pretty good article in today's Atlanta Business Chronicle discussing this situation. They quote Commission Chairman John Eaves acknowledging a disparity in services between North Fulton and other areas.
However, he contends that Fulton is now working to rectify the situation.
"In the past, the county didn’t do as good a job delivering services to North Fulton," Eaves said. "But we’re doing a better job now."
Eaves says Fulton County can’t afford to lose the tax revenues from North Fulton.
They also talk about how Majority Whip Ed Lindsey, who represents Buckhead, is battling to keep the county together. I wonder when it will come up for a vote?
I'm somewhat hesitant to share this, because I don't want to come off sounding elitist, but one of the biggest gripes I hear from my neighbors in North Fulton is how often we are called for jury duty downtown. We have a very small development, only 34 houses. Sixteen of us have been called in the past six months, and most have been called last year too.
I was talking to one neighbor who served on a murder trial last week. She asked about the makeup of the jury, because every single person was from Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell or Sandy Springs. Only one juror was black. The defendant was black, and found guilty in less than 2 days. After the trial the DA and prosecutor will answer questions. My neighbor asked why the jury was all from No. Fulton, while the defendant was from So. Fulton, and this is what she was told:
Only 40% of those in So. Fulton answer the summons to begin with, and out of those, very few are considered educated enough to satisfy both the Defense Attorney and the Prosecutor.
Meanwhile, I, and my neighbors, have to make the trek to the courthouse, lose days of work, and pay for parking.
Flame me if you want, but something is wrong here. The crime isn't coming from No. Fulton, but the jury pool is.
Sandy Springs wants to be a part of Milton too. I guess if Dunwoody joined, that would cut a piece out of Dekalb? That seems less likely. But if Buckhead somehow became a city and joined Milton as well, wow, that would be one helluva affluent Milton County!
If any of you bothered to read the legislation you'd see it is designed to "steal" Sandy Springs once known as Hammond from Fulton County where it has always resided. Fulton County has every right to keep Sandy Springs since the Fulton Industrial Blvd in South Fulton paid for the infrastructure. The legislation wants the General Assembly to "include" Sandy Springs if the bill is approved via a state constitution amendment.
Otherwise, I say go ahead and form your Milton County without Sandy Springs which was paid for by South Fulton.
Another lesson for you new folks...When the growth of the late 70's started North Fulton benefited by being an unincorporated portion of Fulton County. All Fulton's tax dollars were used to build out North Fulton. South Fulton to this day remains rural. Unincorporated South Fulton pays its own way, state law mandates that. So what is your argument?
You don't want jails, Grady or MARTA in your backyards so where do you think they are going to be built? If anyone should be complaining it's South Fulton. Traffic citations written in S Fulton are used by the courts to offset their costs. What about those citations subsidizing the police that write the tickets down here?
The state General Assembly has it in for Fulton County. There are a number of bills that are designed to wreck havoc on Fulton and Atlanta to the delight of the yahoos in South Georgia.
Airport: Let a 2nd one be built on the North side. Don't stop it. Let's see how much those on the ENTIRE North side continue to use Hartsfield...ask yourself that tough question. I'm sure the folks at you pick the private car lot, car rentals, restaurants, Patels Hotels, ad nauseum won't miss a dime or skip a beat.....right?????
Taxes: Paid for North Fulton's expansion. Well, true to some extent...right there with the growth....in fact, they did such a good job, they let the intersection of Windward and I-400 stay EXACTLY as it was in 1986 up until oh....I dunno, about 2005/6? Turns out, quite a few things were built along the way, taxes siphoned and not a darned thing was done with that intersection until it darn near choked the traffic to a crawl.
Wealth: North Fulton has mixed incomes. It is not nearly as affluent as some would have you think.
Taxes: Does anyone have a stat on taxes per capita for North Fulton versus South Fulton/Fulton proper? I would be curious to see that. Seeing how ALL of our taxes (North, South and all pts in between) go into the same kitty?
Services: Do ya' think everyone in North Fulton would be putting up such a stink all these years if they felt they were getting served???
Schools: Laughable. Last time I checked, they are off loading 2nd chance students at Alpharetta High School every morning.....200 plus of them...don't take my word for it, call the school board.....roughly 10%...bussed baaaack and forth....baaaack and forth...I feel sorry for kids having to take those voyages between North and South.....might be cheaper to give them housing in the long run....and we both pay for those buses and their operational expense.....
Fulton County Commissioners: Ever take a count? The last time I checked it was 5 to 4 against...try again...ergo the complaints
Airport. No one has a choice and everyone feeds that lion. No way around it. Read statement 1. It's hard to make your point when they don't have an option...we call that a monopoly of sorts to include all the revenues gleaned from parking, service, landing fees....true, it's an Atlanta asset, not county but, some of that money stays in South Fulton so, tell me again, how is the North side robbing you blind???
Race: Has nothing to do with it. Most of these folks really, really, really don't give a hoot who is in office. They do care, however, that the money is spent wisely REGARDLESS of race, color, creed....see? Equal rights AND accountability....in action...you heard it here first!.....
The man is right...the affluent ones up here (not me, I barely get by like most folks throughout our country) are too busy making money and if they have that avenue before them. good for them.
Schools: Hey, feel your schools aren't cutting it? move. There are PLENTY of homes for sale and you too can enjoy all you think you are missing. No one is stopping you. That's what most of these people did.
Move up here. Unless of course, they just..moprhed into the homes you see......Come....Get you some.
Plenty of homes....I know you care so, come up here and do your part....come by one of these gems and watch your property taxes increase 20-30%...same house, just more tax.....c'mon you will end up with less grass to mow...think of the savings! I'm just guessing here....you know, if I had to......
White Flight: Myth up here my friends. It's pretty mixed and no one cares. You're just making opinions from what you have heard.
North feeding off you in the lap of luxury...again, look at the tax rolls per capita in zip codes 30004, 30005, 30022, 30009, 30097, 30076, and perhaps 30024 or portions thereof. It's laughable to think the folks up here have been getting away with something all these years. Those roads and infrastructure you speak of have and were long, long overdue....the traffic and population grew at a incredible rate and yet, the roads, schools and other valuable components were ignored for the better part of 15 years....REMEMBER WHEN THE COUNTY DOUBLED THE PROPERTY TAXES OF NORTH FULTON RESIDENTS BACK IN THE 90'S?????????....How did yours fare?
In the last 7 years, 3 HS's were added. Right in line with the growth anywhere in this county. If your area isn't growing, it's not something "we" did. It's not growing for ECONOMIC reasons which have nothing to do with the North or even George Bush!!!
Companies can locate anywhere they choose. As go companies so go the jobs AND increases in population/students.....just spit balling here.....soooooo, net result, schools in those areas may/may not age and suffer what any school anywhere in America suffers over time...by the way, Milton High School came on line in the last 5 years...before that, they were operating in the orginal Milton High School...which is over 80 years old now.....take another swing at that one slick.......no lap of luxury and yet, they didn't tear it to pieces either?
Do you know of a HS in South Fulton, that was 70 some odd years old, that was replaced in the last 5 years??? Might be one, you would have to tell me....
Forsyth County: Owes all it's success (and growth) to Fulton. The millage route is almost exactly one half of Fulton's. Fulton County's management style and habits turned out to be Forsyth County's greatest benefactor....while I may not be entirely right, you aren't going to tell all those in Forsyth County (and Dawson) they are all wrong? Just a hunch.....
Hospitals....well, there's always the grady tax...and for the guy that is so proud of DeKalb (wow, talk about some problems...shoot any sheriff elects lately???)...the following thought comes to mind.....
In the words of the Dentist in the movie; "The Hangover" when he discovers his new bride is a stripper......"Savvy"......
DeKalb even told Grady...enough, is enough...ergo the current CEO who has turned things around (somewhat)....and now, North Fulton doesn't complain about it so much anymore.....How proud DeKalb must be....pointing a finger at Fulton and in the end, it was DeKalb that said adieu to Grady until things were fixed......
I dunno about all you folks but, when I'm looking for cutting edge County Management, I look to DeKalb County Georgia! Wow, what a record. You've done SUCH a good job of keeping the schools up....now, if you can only get those employees from stopping that awful habit of embezzlement and other general malfeasance....you might want to tell them that believe it or not, it's NOT okay to murder a Sheriff Elect, and continue the general absconding of County funds on a routine and regular basis....There are more legitimate ways to improve one's lifestyle than at the expense of the taxpayers.....
I know that stuff is funny on Action 5 and 11 Alive news but, it' doesn't really play out well nationwide....or as the other gent says, imagine the national press regarding THAT! For that guy, best not to cast too many stones when you live in a glass house?
I appreciate your offering to "help" us all but, I think we can pretty much dismiss ANY advice from DeKalb County and if ANY of you other counties are considering looking to DeKalb for advice, think again.....just my (NSHO) not-so-humble opion....
Here's a clue about DeKalb County and it's corruption and management....."walks like a duck, quacks like a duck.....it's a duck!"
Pull!
Speaking of Hopsitals...did you know that the ONLY hospital we had in the area until 2005/2006 was North Fulton Regional? Did you know that for any major trauma care the taxpayers had to jog down I-400 to the Perimeter to get to Pill Hill or enjoy a life flight, 15-20 min flight time, give or take, to Grady???? Couple of hundred thousand citizens way, way out of bounds for major medical care until the last 5 years...where was your compassion.....then? You know, 15-20 minutes or so bleeding out is a long, long time...just ask any trauma surgeon...it's not like they could drive or take a cab....just a guess....sigh......
Remember, the North Fulton/Windward area was a wide spot in the road when DCA/John Alderman kicked it off back in 1984/1985......and the place didn't see a new hospital, major increase in roads or schools until almost 15-20 years later depending on which piece of infrastructure you select....those who lived here back then can vouch for that....there were 3 exits off 400...exit 4 was Holcomb Bridge....Mansell didn't exist......Haynes Bridge was exit 5, Milton/120 was Exit 6 and Windward was Exit 7.......traffic LITERALLY was bumper to bumper from Holcomb Bridge Road all the way to I-285 as 400 didn't extend through the city at that time....it was laughable...2 lane highway (each direction, 4 total)...cars stacked for 12 miles.....hilarious to see at the time...and just North of that it was clean and green as far as your gas could take you.....
Again, there was no speed records being broken up here as it relates to road widenings, expansions, creations, etc.....it took over 20 years to get what you see in place today, built.
And we....were robbing you blind? Walk me through that....explain that...tell me where those millions went....Remember, those taxpayers were getting whacked with sizeable taxes all those years......way waaaaay before any major improvements....and you wonder why...they are pissed off???? And you want MORE time to make things better for Atlanta and Fulton County??? Take a seat.
GA 400 is a State road...GDOT and perhaps so are most of the others....regardless, we cough that dough up to and from town...first it was to build the road....now, it's to maintain it.....even when the original promise was to use the revenues only until the road was paid for...proving once and for all, when taxes appear, they never go away....why miss out on that tax snack?
Hey, if you think these areas can't survive, give them the chance to fail? Believe it or not, I'm not the most excitable one in regards to this but, I do believe that people should have a say in government, improve and effect the government they want...for the people, by the people and all that....and that holds true for South Fulton, South DeKalb, East Cobb..whatever...it that's what the citizens want, let them have it.....
Wanna bet that Fulton County would want to see this go away about as much as they would want to see George Bush run for the Fulton County Tax Commissioner's Office?.....I"m just saying.....
Personally, I don't think Milton has a remote chance of ever being it's own County ever again simply due to those tax and revenue issues and who knows, it might just be best for all citizens concerned.
Until then, I'm afraid you are going to be stuck with us mooches squandering all your tax revenue from Fulton and South Fulton forever.
Airport: Let a 2nd one be built on the North side. Don't stop it. Let's see how much those on the ENTIRE North side continue to use Hartsfield...ask yourself that tough question. I'm sure the folks at you pick the private car lot, car rentals, restaurants, Patels Hotels, ad nauseum won't miss a dime or skip a beat.....right?????
Taxes: Paid for North Fulton's expansion. Well, true to some extent...right there with the growth....in fact, they did such a good job, they let the intersection of Windward and I-400 stay EXACTLY as it was in 1986 up until oh....I dunno, about 2005/6? Turns out, quite a few things were built along the way, taxes siphoned and not a darned thing was done with that intersection until it darn near choked the traffic to a crawl.
Wealth: North Fulton has mixed incomes. It is not nearly as affluent as some would have you think.
Taxes: Does anyone have a stat on taxes per capita for North Fulton versus South Fulton/Fulton proper? I would be curious to see that. Seeing how ALL of our taxes (North, South and all pts in between) go into the same kitty?
Services: Do ya' think everyone in North Fulton would be putting up such a stink all these years if they felt they were getting served???
Schools: Laughable. Last time I checked, they are off loading 2nd chance students at Alpharetta High School every morning.....200 plus of them...don't take my word for it, call the school board.....roughly 10%...bussed baaaack and forth....baaaack and forth...I feel sorry for kids having to take those voyages between North and South.....might be cheaper to give them housing in the long run....and we both pay for those buses and their operational expense.....
Fulton County Commissioners: Ever take a count? The last time I checked it was 5 to 4 against...try again...ergo the complaints
Airport. No one has a choice and everyone feeds that lion. No way around it. Read statement 1. It's hard to make your point when they don't have an option...we call that a monopoly of sorts to include all the revenues gleaned from parking, service, landing fees....true, it's an Atlanta asset, not county but, some of that money stays in South Fulton so, tell me again, how is the North side robbing you blind???
Race: Has nothing to do with it. Most of these folks really, really, really don't give a hoot who is in office. They do care, however, that the money is spent wisely REGARDLESS of race, color, creed....see? Equal rights AND accountability....in action...you heard it here first!.....
The man is right...the affluent ones up here (not me, I barely get by like most folks throughout our country) are too busy making money and if they have that avenue before them. good for them.
Schools: Hey, feel your schools aren't cutting it? move. There are PLENTY of homes for sale and you too can enjoy all you think you are missing. No one is stopping you. That's what most of these people did.
Move up here. Unless of course, they just..moprhed into the homes you see......Come....Get you some.
Plenty of homes....I know you care so, come up here and do your part....come by one of these gems and watch your property taxes increase 20-30%...same house, just more tax.....c'mon you will end up with less grass to mow...think of the savings! I'm just guessing here....you know, if I had to......
White Flight: Myth up here my friends. It's pretty mixed and no one cares. You're just making opinions from what you have heard.
North feeding off you in the lap of luxury...again, look at the tax rolls per capita in zip codes 30004, 30005, 30022, 30009, 30097, 30076, and perhaps 30024 or portions thereof. It's laughable to think the folks up here have been getting away with something all these years. Those roads and infrastructure you speak of have and were long, long overdue....the traffic and population grew at a incredible rate and yet, the roads, schools and other valuable components were ignored for the better part of 15 years....REMEMBER WHEN THE COUNTY DOUBLED THE PROPERTY TAXES OF NORTH FULTON RESIDENTS BACK IN THE 90'S?????????....How did yours fare?
In the last 7 years, 3 HS's were added. Right in line with the growth anywhere in this county. If your area isn't growing, it's not something "we" did. It's not growing for ECONOMIC reasons which have nothing to do with the North or even George Bush!!!
Companies can locate anywhere they choose. As go companies so go the jobs AND increases in population/students.....just spit balling here.....soooooo, net result, schools in those areas may/may not age and suffer what any school anywhere in America suffers over time...by the way, Milton High School came on line in the last 5 years...before that, they were operating in the orginal Milton High School...which is over 80 years old now.....take another swing at that one slick.......no lap of luxury and yet, they didn't tear it to pieces either?
Do you know of a HS in South Fulton, that was 70 some odd years old, that was replaced in the last 5 years??? Might be one, you would have to tell me....
Forsyth County: Owes all it's success (and growth) to Fulton. The millage route is almost exactly one half of Fulton's. Fulton County's management style and habits turned out to be Forsyth County's greatest benefactor....while I may not be entirely right, you aren't going to tell all those in Forsyth County (and Dawson) they are all wrong? Just a hunch.....
Hospitals....well, there's always the grady tax...and for the guy that is so proud of DeKalb (wow, talk about some problems...shoot any sheriff elects lately???)...the following thought comes to mind.....
In the words of the Dentist in the movie; "The Hangover" when he discovers his new bride is a stripper......"Savvy"......
DeKalb even told Grady...enough, is enough...ergo the current CEO who has turned things around (somewhat)....and now, North Fulton doesn't complain about it so much anymore.....How proud DeKalb must be....pointing a finger at Fulton and in the end, it was DeKalb that said adieu to Grady until things were fixed......
I dunno about all you folks but, when I'm looking for cutting edge County Management, I look to DeKalb County Georgia! Wow, what a record. You've done SUCH a good job of keeping the schools up....now, if you can only get those employees from stopping that awful habit of embezzlement and other general malfeasance....you might want to tell them that believe it or not, it's NOT okay to murder a Sheriff Elect, and continue the general absconding of County funds on a routine and regular basis....There are more legitimate ways to improve one's lifestyle than at the expense of the taxpayers.....
I know that stuff is funny on Action 5 and 11 Alive news but, it' doesn't really play out well nationwide....or as the other gent says, imagine the national press regarding THAT! For that guy, best not to cast too many stones when you live in a glass house?
I appreciate your offering to "help" us all but, I think we can pretty much dismiss ANY advice from DeKalb County and if ANY of you other counties are considering looking to DeKalb for advice, think again.....just my (NSHO) not-so-humble opion....
Here's a clue about DeKalb County and it's corruption and management....."walks like a duck, quacks like a duck.....it's a duck!"
Pull!
Speaking of Hopsitals...did you know that the ONLY hospital we had in the area until 2005/2006 was North Fulton Regional? Did you know that for any major trauma care the taxpayers had to jog down I-400 to the Perimeter to get to Pill Hill or enjoy a life flight, 15-20 min flight time, give or take, to Grady???? Couple of hundred thousand citizens way, way out of bounds for major medical care until the last 5 years...where was your compassion.....then? You know, 15-20 minutes or so bleeding out is a long, long time...just ask any trauma surgeon...it's not like they could drive or take a cab....just a guess....sigh......
Remember, the North Fulton/Windward area was a wide spot in the road when DCA/John Alderman kicked it off back in 1984/1985......and the place didn't see a new hospital, major increase in roads or schools until almost 15-20 years later depending on which piece of infrastructure you select....those who lived here back then can vouch for that....there were 3 exits off 400...exit 4 was Holcomb Bridge....Mansell didn't exist......Haynes Bridge was exit 5, Milton/120 was Exit 6 and Windward was Exit 7.......traffic LITERALLY was bumper to bumper from Holcomb Bridge Road all the way to I-285 as 400 didn't extend through the city at that time....it was laughable...2 lane highway (each direction, 4 total)...cars stacked for 12 miles.....hilarious to see at the time...and just North of that it was clean and green as far as your gas could take you.....
Again, there was no speed records being broken up here as it relates to road widenings, expansions, creations, etc.....it took over 20 years to get what you see in place today, built.
And we....were robbing you blind? Walk me through that....explain that...tell me where those millions went....Remember, those taxpayers were getting whacked with sizeable taxes all those years......way waaaaay before any major improvements....and you wonder why...they are pissed off???? And you want MORE time to make things better for Atlanta and Fulton County??? Take a seat.
GA 400 is a State road...GDOT and perhaps so are most of the others....regardless, we cough that dough up to and from town...first it was to build the road....now, it's to maintain it.....even when the original promise was to use the revenues only until the road was paid for...proving once and for all, when taxes appear, they never go away....why miss out on that tax snack?
Hey, if you think these areas can't survive, give them the chance to fail? Believe it or not, I'm not the most excitable one in regards to this but, I do believe that people should have a say in government, improve and effect the government they want...for the people, by the people and all that....and that holds true for South Fulton, South DeKalb, East Cobb..whatever...it that's what the citizens want, let them have it.....
Wanna bet that Fulton County would want to see this go away about as much as they would want to see George Bush run for the Fulton County Tax Commissioner's Office?.....I"m just saying.....
Personally, I don't think Milton has a remote chance of ever being it's own County ever again simply due to those tax and revenue issues and who knows, it might just be best for all citizens concerned.
Until then, I'm afraid you are going to be stuck with us mooches squandering all your tax revenue from Fulton and South Fulton forever.
Lucky you...
P.S. We'll take the jails...we could use the jobs....too.....
I'm somewhat hesitant to share this, because I don't want to come off sounding elitist, but one of the biggest gripes I hear from my neighbors in North Fulton is how often we are called for jury duty downtown. We have a very small development, only 34 houses. Sixteen of us have been called in the past six months, and most have been called last year too.
I was talking to one neighbor who served on a murder trial last week. She asked about the makeup of the jury, because every single person was from Alpharetta, Milton, Roswell or Sandy Springs. Only one juror was black. The defendant was black, and found guilty in less than 2 days. After the trial the DA and prosecutor will answer questions. My neighbor asked why the jury was all from No. Fulton, while the defendant was from So. Fulton, and this is what she was told:
Only 40% of those in So. Fulton answer the summons to begin with, and out of those, very few are considered educated enough to satisfy both the Defense Attorney and the Prosecutor.
Meanwhile, I, and my neighbors, have to make the trek to the courthouse, lose days of work, and pay for parking.
Flame me if you want, but something is wrong here. The crime isn't coming from No. Fulton, but the jury pool is.
Funny you mention this...my wife has been called back 3 times in a year and a half, me? once in the last year.....I just figured it was triggered off voting....weird a DA would say that.....
The last time I was summoned, I forgot and was so paranoid, I called to make sure there was no warrant! She told me not to worry about it and threw me back into the jury pool...I'm waiting for my number to come up....
My wife and I have been summoned a total of 6 times between us in the last 4 1/2 years......before that it was once or twice total in 5 years....I have no idea of how those pools are selected but, I do know this, I put it in Outlook everytime I get a summons and send myself emails to remind me days in advance to make sure I never miss again.....
And 40% in South Fulton don't show up??? How is that even possible? I would be scared of getting a bench warrant...I didn't think anyone would blow that off just because of the nuissance consequence.....not to mention a record???
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