Atlanta’s wealthiest suburb eyes seceding from city

One of Atlanta’s wealthiest neighborhoods is one step closer to seceding from the city, as some of its well-heeled residents have become increasingly fed up with elected officials’ failure to tackle rising crime.

Georgia’s Republican-controlled state Senate and Local Government Operations Committee passed two bills Monday that would allow a public referendum on the proposed City of Buckhead, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Located in the 24 square miles of the southern capital’s northside, Buckhead is one of Atlanta’s most affluent enclaves. With a median household income of $109,774 compared with the rest of the city’s $68,806, the neighborhood is known for high-end retail and even more auspicious residents: music legend Elton John, for example, keeps a condo on Peachtree Road, and Mariah Carey, had a $6.5 million residence on Davis Drive that she put on the market last year after there was a break-in at the home.

In recent years, some Buckhead residents have railed against what they say has been the Atlanta top brass’ failure to curb crime, arguing that northside taxpayers are not getting their money’s worth of city services.

“Buckhead is a target. We’re a target for criminals in the city, and Atlanta has not been able to protect us,” Buckhead City supporter Kelly Rodts complained to the committee last week, WRDW reported.

Local statistics indicate that all crimes except shoplifting actually decreased in Buckhead in 2022, 11ALIVE said. Homicides in Atlanta overall remain on the rise.

The City of Buckhead push previously stalled out last year. After Monday’s vote, however, the bills will be scheduled for Senate vote by the Rules Committee, 11ALIVE reported. 

If Senate Bills 113 and 114 are approved by both chambers and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, Buckhead residents will be able to vote on seceding from Atlanta in the Nov. 2024 elections.

The legislation would allow the new city to buy the city-owned assets in the area– including parks, public schools, and sewer lines– on the cheap, based on the idea that Buckhead residents have already paid for them through taxes.

But although the movement has support from Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones, it faces significant resistance from Atlanta business owners and lawmakers, who argue that the split would compromise the city’s economy and disjoint the school system.

According to Bloominberg, Buckhead’s secession would take one-fifth of Atlanta’s population and an estimated 38% of its tax revenue. It could also impact the city’s credit rating, plus that of smaller cities throughout the state.

The Democratic Senators representing Buckhead– Sonya Halpern, Jason Esteves, and Josh McLaurin– voted against the bills, The Atlanta Voice reported.

“I voted against the ‘Buckhead City’ bills, which the majority of my constituents oppose and which threaten the stability of our education, public safety, transportation, and financial systems statewide,” Esteves said after the vote on Monday.

Esteves and his allies also noted that none of the bills’ sponsors represent Atlanta districts.

City spokesperson Michael Smith said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was “disappointed” by Monday’s vote, calling the legislation “short-sighted” with “disastrous consequences.”

Kemp is also critical of Buckhead cityhood. Late Tuesday night, the Republican governor’s executive counsel, David Dove, issued a series of questions about the constitutionality of the two bills, which could delay the upcoming Senate vote.

Republican senator and sponsor Randy Robertson, however, remained unbowed following Monday’s vote.

“Too many times inside this building and especially outside this building in local communities, elected officials forget who they work for. So when movements happen that remind elected officials who the real bosses are, then I have to support that,” he said.

Buckhead City also received a loud vote of support from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who represents Georgia’s the mostly-rural 14th district

“A vote against Buckhead city is a vote FOR crime. A vote for Buckhead city is a vote FOR freedom,” Greene, who recently incited ire by calling for a “national divorce,” spouted on Twitter.

While the City of Buckhead’s fate hangs in legislative limbo, it remains uncertain as to whether area residents would pass the secession if given the opportunity: In June 2022, the Committee for a United Atlanta reported that only 30% of residents wanted to leave Atlanta, with 61% saying they would opt to remain.

With Post wires