Operating a city of Brookhaven would be financially feasible without increasing property taxes above levels now collected by DeKalb County, according to a study released Nov. 7 by the Citizens for North DeKalb, the nonprofit organization that financed the study.

The study estimates that a city of Brookhaven would have annual revenues of approximately $28.5 million and expenditures of $25.1 million, leaving an approximate surplus of $3.4 million each year, if it collected property taxes at the same level as the county.

Members of the nonprofit held a press conference to discuss the findings of the municipal feasibility study conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia.

The study calculated the costs of a future city of Brookhaven by looking at Dunwoody and Johns Creek, two cities of similar size that were incorporated in recent years. Like those cities, a city of Brookhaven would outsource many of its city services to private contractors, members of the nonprofit group said.

The citizens group asked the Carl Vinson Institute use the city of Roswell as a model to study the costs of parks maintenance because of that city’s reputation for nice parks.

Citizens president Doug Dykhuisen said one of the main things residents in the Brookhaven want to see is better maintenance for the area’s 250 acres of park land. The study concluded that about $1.3 million would be spent on parks maintenance. DeKalb now spends about $480,000, the study said.

“Parks are a particularly valuable asset that not everybody has,” Dykhuizen said.

The study defined a city of Brookhaven that would be approximately 12 square miles, bordered by Dunwoody to the north, Chamblee to the east, I-85 to the south and the Fulton County line to the west. The study area has a population of 49,188.

The study shows that the recent tax increase in DeKalb County boosted the financial viability of a city of Brookhaven. DeKalb increased the county’s property tax rate from 3.5 to 6.39 mills, raising property tax revenue in the study area from approximately $5.2 million to $9.9 million.

The rest of the revenue for a city of Brookhaven would come from a variety of sources, such as franchise fees, DeKalb’s Homestead Option Sales Taxes and business occupation taxes.

State Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody, said the study is the beginning of the conversation that could result in a referendum if there is support for a city of Brookhaven in the community.

“This is just a snapshot of comparable service,” Taylor said. “At the end of the day, these things are going to be decided by voters and elected officials.”

Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, has scheduled public discussions of the study for Nov. 15 at Cross Keys High School and Nov. 17 at Montgomery Elementary School. Both session start at 7 p.m.

Citizens for North DeKalb also plans to hold smaller, neighborhood meetings, board members said.

Jacobs and Taylor last year introduced legislation to create the city. That legislation triggered the $27,000 study, which Citizens for North DeKalb paid for. Jacobs said if public sentiment seems to favor the new city, the lawmakers would go forward next year with the legislation. Creating the new city require the approval of a majority of voters in the area, Taylor said.