Crime is spiking across the city of Atlanta, and perhaps most visibly in Buckhead. Some residents there are saying it s time to secede from Atlanta and that forming their own city is the best way to protect their citizens and keep a close eye on their tax dollars. Opponents of Buckhead cityhood believe that this could be a tremendous hit to the economy of the city of Atlanta. On the latest episode of
Georgia Today, we talk to J.D. Capelouto, news reporter from
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, about the push by some residents for Buckhead to secede from Atlanta.
TRANSCRIPT
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Buckhead Exploratory Committee plans fundraiser in pursuit of effort to break wealthy neighborhood away from City of Atlanta. (Marcus K. Garner | Patch)
ATLANTA What is next on the Buckhead City cityhood train?
It is time to raise money.
Buckhead Exploratory Committee, the engine on this current track toward a new city, is promoting a fundraising event on June 16, with donations of between $250 and $2,500 requested for attendance.
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The call to de-annex the well-to-do neighborhood from the City of Atlanta seems to have grown from fever dream to full-fledged movement.
Last summer, the grassroots organization Buckhead Exploratory committee revived previous secession yearnings once championed by no less than former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massel and two-time mayoral runner-up Mary Norwood.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File
Atlanta didn’t defund the police the way some cities attempted to last year, but it did experience riots last summer. Those eventually calmed down and then the shooting of Rayshard Brooks caused things to escalate again. Eventually, the Mayor’s split with the Atlanta PD was one of the reasons she decided not to run for office again.
Meanwhile crime is up in Atlanta just as it is in cities across the country. Yesterday the Washington Post reported Mayor Bottoms and police are struggling to deal with it:
In Atlanta, the homicide rate is up 50 percent over this time last year, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) said she and her police commanders have been struggling to come up with concise reasons as they brace for a potentially rough summer.