Potholes, Flooding Among Concerns For DeKalb County Residents

“You tell me how I can call all these people for over two weeks and not even get a sign put up on Flat Shoals Road that says ‘bump in the road’?” Jackson asked the crowd.

District 5 resident Phyllis Wallace said the streets near her hadn’t been repaved in decades.

“Only thing I get is, ‘It’s not in the budget,’” Wallace said. “I’ve been in DeKalb County 45 years. When is the budget gonna come around to my side of the town?”

Stan Watson, chairman of the Public Works Committee, said the county doesn’t yet have the $167 million it needs to resurface all the county’s roads.

“We need to make sure that the taxpayers know that when you increase services, you have to pay a price for that,” Watson said, adding that could mean a tax increase.

While the complaints at the meeting were varied, and were voiced by people from all over the county, Jeff Breedlove, a spokesperson for District 1 Commissioner Nancy Jester, said overall they spoke to residents’ priorities.

“I think the common theme, in every district in the county, is people want the commissioners to put needs ahead of wants,” Breedlove said.

And Breedlove said the Board of Commissioners should take note in crafting the mid-year budget adjustment.

In the meantime, the Department of Public Works said it will work to resolve each concern raised at the meeting.