Neighbors gather at popular shopping center to petition against Brookhaven annexation

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Brookhaven neighbors continue their fight against the city’s plan to expand and annex land from DeKalb County.

On Sunday, neighbors gathered at the Toco Hills shopping center to spread the word about why they believe the city of Brookhaven’s plan to expand is a bad thing.

“Brookhaven can’t exist by itself, and they are taking away financial support that Dekalb County requires them to be able to provide the exterior support,” neighbor Louis Myer told Channel 2′s Justin Carter.

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The city of Brookhaven is petitioning to annex the neighborhoods in red, bordered by Briarcliff, North Druid Hills and Lavista Road, which includes the Toco Hills shopping center.

Myer told Carter that the expansion was a terrible idea because it would raise taxes and allow Brookhaven to replace services DeKalb County provides, such as police and homeless support services.

Andy Critchell, a Brookhaven neighbor, told Carter the expansion might not be so bad.

“For me, it didn’t make a ton of sense that if there’s an increase in taxes, there’s suddenly going to be a decrease in services, which is what they are saying,” Critchell said. “I don’t think that change is gonna be bad, so I just want to learn more about it.”

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Channel 2 Action News first reported the story last week when DeKalb County held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the possible expansion.

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said the city didn’t bother to meet about it.

“This, in my opinion, has been a rushed process. I think we need to take a breath and really think about this annexation,” said Thurmond.

Many felt this was a money grab for the city especially considering the tax dollars from Toco Hills.

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“City of Brookhaven is a steamrolling machine. This whole thing is a power play. We call it Crook-haven or Broke-haven,” said DeKalb County resident Ronnie Mayer.

Before Tuesday night’s meeting, Channel 2 Action News spoke with a resident open to the annexation.

“I live in the area, and I have seen the signs. I have thought about it a little bit but not a lot. But I know that Brookhaven has had success, so I’m not against it because we may enjoy the same success that they’ve had,” said George Volkert.

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