Oliver Files Cityhood Bill for Druid Hills, Briarcliff Residents

The bill, which does not include a map, would allow for discussion among Mary Margaret Oliver's constituents, the state representative said.

State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver filed a bill in the state legislature Monday that she said allows residents in the Druid Hills and Briarcliff areas to discuss and study cityhood over the next year – the first official step toward creating a new city. Oliver's bill, HB 665, does not include a map of a proposed city, and it's short – about two sentences. It does not name a specific area, including Druid Hills, and says it intends only to create a city in DeKalb County. Oliver, D-Decatur, said she did not want to specify an area because she didn't want to limit options. She has been a critic of cityhood movements and new incorporation, particularly in nearby Brookhaven, but said she didn't want her constituents to be "buffaloed into a new …

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Does DeKalb Still Need a CEO?

District 1 Commissioner Elaine Boyer says absolutely not.

The position of county CEO has for years been on shaky ground in DeKalb County.  Sitting CEO Burrell Ellis has faced questions about the position's necessity in the past and successfully fended them off.  But after the district attorney raided Ellis' home as part of an investigation into the county's watershed operations last month, local media and elected officials have questioned whether it might be worth pushing to eliminate the position once and for all. DeKalb County District 1 Commissioner Elaine Boyer, a long-time critic of the CEO position, said she still supported its elimination Tuesday.  "This form of government doesn't work," she said. "I'm in my 21st year [as a commissioner], it does not work. We're not the federal government…

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Letters to the Editor

Legislation Allows Time for County to Partner with Communities

A reader supports legislation to temporarily stop the creation of new cities and annexations.

By Tim Cairl Ever invited friends or family over for dinner and planned out an entire meal? Set off to the grocery store; list in hand, only to discover that several key ingredients were missing? This is the position in which our local communities may find themselves in only a few short years. The surge in local incorporation efforts has led to a cookie cutter approach to cityhood. This rolling and cutting of the county tax base is dangerous to the security of our school systems and support services such as 911 and police as well as sewer and water services, just to name a few. Legislation such as HB 22 introduced by State Representative Mary Margaret Oliver (DeKalb County) is attempting to force local elected leaders, developers and …

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Tom Doolittle

4:06 pm on Friday, March 29, 2013

Not sure about the motivation behind the Oliver legislation, but I do like the prospects for legislative review and change. (I actually have heard some say that the bill not having a map means it is aimed at forming a DeKalb City. I can't see Oliver favoring that--none of her constituents do--, unless as a threat to get other things accomlished).   more ›

Letters to the Editor

DeKalb County, Residents in 'Abusive Relationship'

The writer says a bill introduced by state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver "locks the doors on those neighborhoods ready to take the initiative of trying to find their way out of the abuse."

By Virginia DuPre Within the professional circles that work with domestic violence, the definition of emotional abuse includes: making the abused feel crazy, playing mind games on the abused, controlling what the abused does--who they talk to/limiting involvement and access to others, making light of the abuse, not taking the concerns about the abuse seriously, saying the abuse is not happening, shifting responsibility from the abuser to the abused--blaming the abused for the wrongdoing. DeKalb County is guilty of all of the above in its actions toward its citizens. House Bill 22 introduced by Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver of Druid Hills illustrates and exacerbates the problem because it only locks the doors on those neighborhoods ready to …

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Local Legislators to Host Town Hall Meeting

Decatur area legislators will talk about upcoming State House issues Feb. 13.

State Reps. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), Howard Mosby (D-Atlanta) and Rahn Mayo (D-Decatur), as well as state Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur), will host a town hall meeting Feb. 13 from 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. at Decatur City Hall. The legislators will discuss issues likely to come before the General Assembly in the 2013 legislative session and hear comments and concerns from their constituents as they prepare for the upcoming legislative session. All Decatur-area residents are strongly encouraged to attend.  WHO: Reps. Oliver (D-Decatur), Mosby (D-Atlanta), Mayo (D-Decatur), Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur) WHAT: Town hall meeting to inform residents of Decatur about issues likely to come before the General Assembly in the 2013 legislative …

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Oliver Playing Major Role In DeKalb Redistricting

The local legislator is on two committees charged with redrawing DeKalb commission and school districts.

A North Druid Hills-Briarcliff lawmaker is playing a major role in this year’s efforts to redraw DeKalb County commission and school board districts. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, is a member of two House DeKalb caucus committees that will be proposing the new boundaries. She also hopes to reduce DeKalb’s school board from nine to seven members. Oliver’s District 83 includes the Sagamore Hills, Oak Grove, Northlake, Clairmont Hills and ValleyBrook communities. Every decade, after the U.S. Census is completed, state governments, or an independent body, make changes to district lines at all levels of government. This means, a citizen who lived in one county commission or school board district last year may live in another …

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Oliver, Holcomb Want To Slow Brookhaven Cityhood Process

Members of DeKalb County's legislative delegation held a town hall meeting Thursday night.

Two local lawmakers would like to slow down the process through which communities incorporate themselves into cityhood. State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-83, Decatur) is pre-filing a bill in the General Assembly next week that would require communities to follow a two-year process before incorporating as a city. Her comments came during a Thursday night town hall meeting in which members of DeKalb County’s legislative delegation met with constituents. A major topic of discussion during the meeting was the incorporation of Brookhaven as a city. “We are definitely in a trend of municipalization,” she said. “But the economic viability of Brookhaven has to be analyzed on some level, and with some participation from its neighbors.” Thursday …

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