With almost all of Fulton County now part of one of its 15 cities, the county no longer needs to keep its planning department, which helps with rezoning cases and land use decisions.

It doesn’t need code enforcement, either. Or police.

In fact, Fulton County is getting out of the business of city services entirely, focusing instead on big-picture issues.

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They plan to hire nearly 100 new patrols.

This week, the county began shutting down departments — a process that will take place over the next year — when it transitioned the planning employees over to the newly incorporated city of South Fulton.

This is the first time a Georgia county that provided such services is relinquishing them, said Todd Edwards, the deputy legislative director for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.

“It’s uncharted territory,” Edwards said. “The experience they’ve gone through can be a learning experience for all counties.”

>> To read more about the closures, and the effect they will have, read the full story, only at myAJC.com.

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The AJC's Arielle Kass keeps you updated on the latest happenings in Fulton County government and politics. You'll find more on myAJC.com, including these stories:

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