Is Buckhead Cityhood An Option For Nonprofit Study Group?

BUCKHEAD, GA — Improving Buckhead’s quality of life is a fundamental purpose for the Buckhead Exploratory Committee, and is why the nonprofit will host a town hall meeting to solicit community input Wednesday evening.

The public is invited to register for the virtual meeting scheduled for Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. In its efforts to find the best way forward for the community, Buckhead Exploratory Committee won’t rule out seceding from Atlanta.

“That’s definitely on the table,” said Buckhead Exploratory Committee CEO Sam Lenaeus. “Also, on the table is working with the City of Atlanta so we feel like we have better representation.”

The organization was formed last summer by a number of “concerned Buckhead citizens” outside of politics with the shared goal of improving safety, building infrastructure, getting services commensurate with tax investment, and maintaining the community’s “parklike setting,” according to its web site.

“There’s a grassroots movement,” Lenaeus said. “ There’s been discussion about a lack of representation and a lack of accountability for our dollars that are being put into the tax base.”

Atlanta’s recent spike in crime, as acknowledged earlier this month by city officials, contributed to the desire to study improvements.

“We have seen quality of life come down across the entire city,” Lenaeus said. “We don’t know the answer. … Maybe the city is too big. Maybe we need smaller governments.”

On its website, Buckhead Exploratory Committee describes in detail its requirements on behalf of residents and the business community. Among those requests are that the community benefit from a well-maintained infrastructure, enjoy transparent information on a routine basis, provide adequate public safety to ensure a sense of security, and give taxpayers their money’s worth in services.

Sam Massell, former Atlanta mayor and past president of the Buckhead Coalition, has assessed that Buckhead accounts for nearly half of the city’s property taxes. However, he reportedly opposes incorporation of a city of Buckhead.

Following the town hall meeting, Lenaeus said the nonprofit will conduct a community-wide survey to further drill down on how to reach the BEC’s goals.

“We haven’t formed any ideas or notions of what people in this area are going to give us,” he said. “That’s why we’re having town hall so we can get an idea of what people want. Then, we will look into the ideas and see how viable they are.”

For more information, go to www.becnow.com.