Tucker City Council member Anne Lerner joins DDA
Tucker City Councilmember Anne Lerner, on right, talks with Detective B. Gray from the Special Victims Unit during DeKalb County Police Department’s Summer Kickoff event at Northlake Mall in Tucker on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Lerner said she came out to thank the officers. “My dad was a Connecticut State Trooper and a Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy. I grew up riding in a police car," said Lerner. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Tucker, GA — Councilmember Anne Lerner, a 25-year resident of Tucker and leader in the cityhood movement, is the newest member of the city’s Downtown Development Authority. She is the first sitting city council member to be appointed to the DDA.
Lerner is the public affairs director at Georgia Transmission Corporation. She has served as DeKalb County Planning Commissioner and Tucker Community Council Representative.
Lerner was identified by Mayor Frank Auman for her “involvement in economic development professionally.” Lerner said she was humbled and honored to be nominated.
“Our DDA plays an extremely important role,” said Lerner.
Council members Noelle Monferdini and Alexis Weaver, supportive of Lerner’s nomination, asked for more definition of the role of a council member on the DDA, and what that means for the future.
“How are their bylaws set up? What are the opportunities there? There’s a lot of political pressure for Anne to make some of the decisions,” said Monferdini.
Weaver asked how the role of city council member and DDA member intersect.
“Where are the delineation of roles and responsibilities of someone who is serving both as a council member and a DDA member? Anne, yes, you are supremely qualified, and I think it is a good choice. I want to be clear on our process and our policies between the city and the DDA,” said Weaver.
Auman said there “aren’t any legal or bylaw restrictions on what a member of council’s role is, if he or she is also a member of the DDA.”
“A board member is a board member, a council member is a council member. Of course, if it happens to be both they serve in both roles,” said Auman. “There’s not really a conflict … presumably the person would be consistent from one to the other.”
The vacancy is due to the resignation of Andy Alexander, DDA member since 2018.
In other news:
– City Council approved a $90,000 contract with KB Advisory Group to develop the DDA’s first Economic Development Strategic Plan. The city is pitching in $65,000 while $10,000 is coming from the DDA, $10,000 from Tucker Summit CID and $5,000 from Tucker-Northlake CID. The goal of the plan is to attract new career-wage jobs and community-minded employers while increasing the quality of life for the community, according to a memo.
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