Two new cities, Stonecrest and South Fulton, form to Atlanta’s south
After years of watching cities created on the north side of metro Atlanta, voters on the south side decided it was their turn.
On Election Day, voters approved the cities of South Fulton and Stonecrest, bringing a combined 150,000 people within their borders. They'll become the ninth and 10th cities formed in the region since Sandy Springs launched the incorporation trend in 2005.
The formation will mean even more government bodies that will need to communicate and coordinate about the region’s future.
Like cities that came before, supporters of South Fulton and Stonecrest say they want more control of their tax money and government. They believe incorporation will bring more business growth and better services than county governments could provide.
To read more about the benefits for these new cities, and the challenges they face, click here.
About the Authors
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
Arielle Kass covers Gwinnett County for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She started at the paper in 2010, and has covered business and local government beats around metro Atlanta. Arielle is a graduate of Emory University.
