A new lawsuit has been filed alleging that the bill creating the city of Mableton and the referendum passed by city voters were “unconstitutional and fatally defective.”
Mableton’s ballot question and city charter created both the city and its community improvement district. Cities and CIDs are categorized in state law as separate governmental bodies, according to the lawsuit, which says creating both in one bill violated the state constitution.
“You can’t have, ‘Oh, we’re gonna do a city, and we’re going to do a community improvement district,’ in the same sentence,” said Deidre White, the lead plaintiff. “It can’t even be in the same law. They put it in the same sentence.”
If Cobb County Superior Court Judge Sonja Brown rules in the plaintiffs’ favor, the bill creating the city of Mableton would be void and, presumably, so would the subsequent election of mayor and council. The area would once again become unincorporated, and cityhood proponents would have to start again to create the city.
Mableton’s Mayor Michael Owens questioned the plaintiffs’ motives in bringing the lawsuit and called it unfortunate.
“The city is being sued for something that obviously, myself, none the council members of our city had anything to do with,” Owens said. “We’re going to have to retain counsel for this, which means, unfortunately, we’re going to have to spend taxpayer funds that we don’t have because people have decided to sue us.”
Owens declined to comment on whether the case has merit.
Attorney Allen Lightcap, who represented legal challenges to the three other proposed cityhood efforts in Cobb County last year, is representing the plaintiffs in challenging Mableton’s legality.
“You cannot create two legally independent units of government in the same bill, just like you cannot create two cities in the same bill, and you cannot create a city and a community improvement district in the same bill,” Lightcap said, citing what is referred to as the constitution’s single-subject rule.
Additionally, the suit cites a 1908 ruling that says ballot questions must only address one issue to give voters a clear choice, which Lightcap said, “protects voters’ freedom of choice so that they’re not forced to vote on two separate and distinct propositions in the same ballot question.”
Critics have said that Mableton’s ballot question was confusing. It was approved by 53% of voters.
The plaintiffs — residents White, Ronnie Blue, Judy King, Tanya Leake and Robert Swarthout — raised $19,675 through donations in less than a month.
Last year, some residents fought against incorporating the city and later pushed to be removed from its boundaries. Those residents thought the cityhood creation process lacked transparency because they were not notified of the boundaries.
“I just have issue with the way it was done,” White said.
Lawmakers failed to bring de-annexation legislation in time for it to pass this session, so those looking to be removed from the city turned their focus on supporting candidates who either supported de-annexation or promised not to raise taxes.
Two such candidates won seats on the city council: Councilwomen Debora Herndon and Patricia Auch. The new council had its first meeting last week and has begun working to get the city government going.
