Brookhaven reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current, August 07, 2015, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextBrookhaven Reporter www. Reporter Newspapers, net AUG. 7 - AUG. 20,2015 • VOL. 7 - NO. 16 On the attack Campaign turns partisan, mean COMMUNITY 3 Watch your step Officers learn from Israeli police PUBLIC SAFETY 20 OUT & ABOUT 14 Winging it Check out my fleet feet ISADORA PENNINGTON Left, Kendi O’Mardo and his son Christopher play touch football during the Punt, Pass & Kick event sponsored by the NFL on Aug. 2 at Murphey Candler Park. The competition gave kids between the ages of 6 and 15 an opportunity to learn football fundamentals in a non-contact environment. See additional photos on page 2. State tells charter school to trim City Council member from board BUJOEEULE joeearle@reporternewspapers. net State officials are requiring the proponents of a Brookhaven charter school to reduce the number of City Council members on the pro posed school board, to provide a plan and budget for teaching students with disabilities or who need help with English, and to provide more budget information on health benefits. The backers of the proposed Brookhaven Innovation Academy were given until Aug. 17 to provide the additional information to the staff members of Georgias State Charter Schools Commission, who would then make a recommendation to the commission on whether to approve the school. The commission is scheduled to meet Aug. 26 to consider whether to approve or deny the charter for the new school, the letter said. “The SCSC review panel determined that the educational model of BIA indicates that the proposed school will operate as a high- quality charter school consistent with the SCSC’s mission and the educational goals of Georgia; however, the SCSC review panel identified several aspects of the schools opera tional plan that require additional action or ex planation before SCSC staff will recommend approval of its charter petition,” Morgan Felts, associate general counsel and petitions manag er for the commission, said in the letter dat ed July 30. SEE STATE, PAGE 19 A neighborhood’s disparity: Home tax values rise, commercial appraisals stay the same BI JOHN RUCK johnruch@reporternewspapers.net When Brookhaven homeowner Thomas Spencer saw the property tax bill on his three Sunland Drive houses jump 48 to 80 percent this year, he thought that at least he shared the pain with many neighbors. But not all of them. Looking at tax records, Spen cer was surprised to see that several adjacent commer cial properties—including the Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce office and the former Mexican consulate complex—had no change in their bills. And those prop erties’ assessments were less than one of his houses alone. “It’s a mystery to me,” Spencer said. “It just seems to me to be grossly unfair for residential property owners to be paying ever-higher property taxes... [while] at least these commercial properties are having such low assess ments.” He wondered if the reason was “gross incompetence” or worse. Calvin Hicks Jr., DeKalb County’s chief appraiser, said there’s a simple reason that some commercial prop erty tax assessments didn’t go up: The county chose not to reappraise them. SEE NEIGHBORHOOD, PAGE 4 Give the police a smile Amelie Martinez- Morales, 10, reflects on the Brookhaven Police patrol car she’s admiring during National Night Out on Aug. 4 at Perimeter Mall. Read story and see more photos on page 24. PHIL M0SIER

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Brookhaven reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current, August 07, 2015, Image 1