Fulton County bloated — if compared to ‘burbs

Accustation: Fulton has failed to rein in spending since new cities formed and took on many services themselves.

AJC's findings: False. Spending has fallen significantly in the special tax district that serves the county's unincorporated area that once included Chattachoochee Hills, Johns Creek, Milton and Sandy Springs. In fact, if the district were a city, it would be among the most tightly run in the state for its population.

Accusation: Fulton provides more jobs to blacks than whites.

AJC findings: True. Census figures put the population at 48 percent white and 45 percent black, but 83 percent of the county government's 5,500 employees are black and 14 percent are white. No other core metro county, nor the city of Atlanta, has workforce demographics so divergent from the people it serves. There are indications that the imbalance is exacerbating resentments and leading to discriminatory employment practices that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars in lawsuit payouts.

Accusation: North Fulton residents get less for their tax dollars than their Atlanta and Southside counterparts

AJC's findings: True. North Fulton doesn't have as many libraries, senior centers and other services per resident as other areas of the county. The disparity persists even though property owners from north Fulton down to Buckhead pay a majority of the taxes that fund county operations.

Accusation: Fulton is fiscally bloated, spending more money on services than other county governments.

AJC's findings: Half true. Fulton does spend far more than its suburban neighbors on services that reflect the challenges of poverty, unemployment, disadvantaged youth and crime in a concentrated urban area. But what Fulton spends on other services is in line with some of its large urban counterparts in other states.

How we got the story

Earlier this year the General Assembly passed or considered several bills designed to force Fulton County to cut spending. The rationale: Critics say the county spends far more than nearby counties on a host of services.

With the word "bloated" being tossed about nonchalantly at the state Capitol, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution set out to determine whether that was true. It compared Fulton County's 2012 spending on five departments and services with spending in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. It also compared Fulton's spending with similar urban counties nationwide.

For the local comparisons, the newspaper closely followed budget comparison methods that Georgia State University researchers used for a 2009 study of the same counties’ budgets. The GSU study went to great lengths to conduct apples-to-apples budget comparisons. In addition to performing the calculations used by GSU, the AJC employed a series of calculations to compare staffing levels among the departments. Though not definitive, the staffing calculations provide a rough guide to relative efficiency of the county departments.

For the national comparison, the AJC performed similar calculations, interviewing officials at other counties across the country to determine whether they provided similar services to the comparable Fulton County departments. The newspaper requested data from 14 counties with roughly 1 million people, with comparable poverty rates and encompassing large cities. The AJC compared Fulton only to those counties that offer comparable services.

The AJC also reviewed budgets, audits, court workload reports and other documents. And it interviewed budget experts, county officials, legislators and county residents.

By the numbers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution used a variety of measures to compare Fulton County spending to other counties’ spending on five key services. Below is a summary of the newspaper’s findings, along with charts showing some of our work. For a look at our full analysis, visit myajc.com.

Elections

Fulton oversees registration and elections for more than half a million voters. Its permanent elections staffing per 100,000 voters is similar to or less than most local and national counties examined. It’s per-capita and per-voter spending on elections also is comparable or less than many other counties.

That may not be a good thing, given the county’s recent history of polling place fiascos. New Elections Director Richard Barron stopped short of blaming those problems on underfunding. But he said the department could spend more to improve technology and expand early voting, which can reduce Election Day costs and hassles.

“This county is bending over backwards to avoid spending money wastefully,” Barron said. “I think there is some investment that needs to be made.”

Libraries

Fulton spends substantially more per capita than other local counties on libraries, but it also has far more branches. Fulton has a library for every 30,496 residents – fewer residents per library than DeKalb and far fewer than Cobb or Gwinnett.

But the county spends less – sometimes far less – than comparable urban counties across the country. And its staffing per 100,000 library cardholders is in the middle of the pack among counties examined.

Fulton could spend less on libraries and still be in line with funding in other local counties. But county voters seem to want more; in they approved a $275 million library building and renovation program in 2008. Fulton officials are still figuring out how they’ll pay for the new libraries when they begin opening next year.

Senior services

Fulton spends far more than any other local county on senior services ranging from adult day care to art classes. Fulton provides 19 senior centers; the other counties have six each. It also spends substantially more than most of the comparable urban counties examined.

One measure of its investment: Fulton could cut spending in half and still have a substantially higher level of service than many other counties. But that’s not likely to happen. Whenever talk of budget cuts surfaces, seniors pack County Commission meetings, pleading for those services to be spared.

If anything, there’s pressure on the county to provide more services. Fulton opened a new center in Milton last summer.

Superior Court

Fulton spending and staffing for Superior Court far outpaces other local counties, but is lower than some comparable urban counties in other states.

The court’s defenders say there are good reasons Fulton Superior Court costs so much. They say it gets far more complex litigation than other superior courts, including lawsuits against the state. They say a greater number felony crimes also contributes to higher costs.

Still, a task force last year made a host of suggestions for improving the court’s operations. And even its defenders say it can operate more efficiently.

“I think you need to demonstrate to county government that you’re good stewards as to what’s given to you,” said Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs.

Tax assessor

Fulton spends more to appraise property for tax purposes than any local or national county examined. It’s staffing per 100,000 parcels is also the highest among the counties – twice as high as Cobb and more than three times as high as Gwinnett.

One reason: Cobb and Gwinnett contract with private companies to do some of their work, while Fulton does its own assessments. Fulton Chief Appraiser David Fitzgibbon said he might consider contracting some work in the future.

But Fitzgibbon said there are other reasons Fulton spends more than other counties. A big one: Fulton has more high rises and major shopping centers than many counties. Those properties are more difficult and costly to appraise, Fitzgibbon and other appraisers said.

Critics have claimed for decades that Fulton County is bloated, inefficient and irresponsible with taxpayer dollars.

It’s a sentiment that earlier this year led Republicans in the General Assembly to pass a slew of bills to force Fulton to be more like suburban counties that spend less on public services.

But a multicounty budget analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution casts doubt on the assumption that Fulton is as "bloated" in some areas as its critics say — an assumption used to justify a dramatic intrusion into county affairs that has troubled some Republicans and Democrats alike.

The analysis found that while Fulton spends far more than neighbors Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett on services such as criminal courts and libraries, its spending is often comparable to or less than that of other large urban counties across the country. And Fulton’s spending on services such as courts and property tax assessment may be higher than suburban counties because of factors including its higher poverty rate and its many major shopping centers.

Fulton does spend more on senior services and property assessment than many of its peers nationally, the AJC found.

The findings shed new light on a decades-old debate about the proper size of Fulton’s government, not unlike the larger philosophical disagreement over the size and responsibilities of the federal government. But they’re not likely to settle that argument.

The county’s critics — many of them north Fulton Republicans — say it’s misleading or beside the point to compare Fulton’s spending with that of other urban counties. Some say the county should eliminate spending on social services and other programs they see as nonessential.

“If you want to live in a metropolitan area, with all the social services and peripheral expenses that come with that, then you should be willing to contribute to that kind of community,” said Michael Fitzgerald, a Johns Creek resident and Milton County NOW committee member. “But I’m sorry, north Fulton County is not an urban county. It’s a suburban county, and we’re paying for things that don’t service us.”

The Democrats who control the county say they’re providing services that most residents want.

“There’s a referendum every four years on the decisions we make,” County Commission Chairman John Eaves said. “If there was a tremendous dissatisfaction, they’d throw us out of office.”

The debate over the role of Fulton’s government moved this year to the General Assembly, where Republicans used their political muscle to make the county more like its lower-cost suburban neighbors, especially Cobb and Gwinnett counties. And they’re like to do even more in the legislative session that starts in January.

Some national experts, however, say urban and suburban areas can’t be held to the same standard. For starters, urban governments such as Fulton’s must keep up with aging infrastructures and more densely packed populations.

“They are fundamentally different creatures,” said James Brooks, a program director for the National League of Cities, “both at the city level and the county level, and they can’t be compared.”

Comparisons, local and national

The AJC examined 2012 spending on five key services that touch hundreds of thousands of lives each year — the library system, property tax appraisals, senior services, elections and felony criminal courts.

It compared spending and staffing in Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. It also compared Fulton with more than a dozen counties in other states that encompass large cities and have similar populations and poverty rates.

Among the AJC’s findings:

Fulton’s spending on property assessments and senior services is also high compared with its national peers. Only Franklin County, Ohio, the home of Columbus, spent more on senior services, and no county in the analysis spent more assessing properties per tax parcel than Fulton.

The AJC’s analysis was modeled on a 2009 Georgia State University study that compared spending on all countywide services over two years among the same four local counties.

For the comparisons with similar urban counties, the AJC interviewed officials in those jurisdictions to determine whether they provided comparable services. But a number of factors, such as variations in state laws and the scope of services, make the comparisons less likely to be “apples to apples.”

Laura Wheeler, a co-author of the GSU study and a senior research associate at the university’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, said comparing Fulton with similar counties nationwide is inherently more difficult but can still provide valuable insights.

Wheeler said much of the difference in spending locally can be attributed to demographic and geographic factors. For example, residents in Fulton’s more densely populated neighborhoods are likely to walk to libraries or polling places, while suburban residents are more likely to drive. That can mean a higher demand in Fulton for more libraries and polling places within walking distance.

Fulton officials say there are other reasons why spending and staffing would be higher.

For example, Fulton has more high-rises and major shopping centers than surrounding counties. Fulton Chief Appraiser David Fitzgibbon said those properties are more difficult and expensive to appraise.

Another factor affecting staffing: Cobb and Gwinnett outsource some of their assessments, while Fulton’s are done in-house.

Fitzgibbon questioned whether Fulton’s tax assessments can be compared with those of other counties nationally because of differences in operations and other factors.

Wheeler said political differences also play a role in spending. Voters in solidly Republican Cobb and Gwinnett, for example, may be content with a smaller government and fewer public services. But in Fulton — where President Barack Obama won 64 percent of the vote last year — many voters may prefer higher levels of government service.

“Maybe they’re OK paying higher taxes if they get a nice rec center,” she said.

Gwen and Rick Darby of Sandy Springs think Fulton should spend more on its senior center there. Gwen’s 87-year-old mother, Doris Barrett, began exercising there after a fall. She rides a bike 15-20 minutes several times a week and takes knitting and other classes.

“The center certainly has improved her quality of life,” Gwen Darby said.

Fulton seniors and their supporters turn out en masse at commission meetings to keep their funds flowing, and County Commissioner Emma Darnell said the county’s standards for senior services — including home-delivered meals and recreational opportunities at senior centers — exceed those in some communities.

“We try not to put them in church basements, give them a hot meal and some arts and crafts, like they’re children,” Darnell said. “We think it’s important for them to have fitness classes, computer classes, water therapy.”

Differing views of government

Conflicting visions about the role of Fulton’s government have fueled discord for decades.

North Fulton residents say they don’t get their share of county services — which an AJC analysis confirmed earlier this year. The county has tried to address that disparity — it opened a new senior center in Milton this year and plans three new north Fulton libraries — but many northern residents still say they see little benefit for their tax dollars.

“‘Bloated’ is, in my mind, a symptom, not the problem,” Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker said. “The problem is recognizing the disparate needs and addressing them. I just don’t feel that the Fulton County Commission adequately represents the entirety of Fulton County’s citizenry.”

That frustration fueled the incorporation of cities such as Sandy Springs and Johns Creek. Today, all of Fulton is incorporated except for a small area in the south. Republicans say the county has not downsized to reflect that new reality, although a 2012 AJC analysis found that since the formation of four new cities in the 2000s, Fulton has appropriately reined in its city-type services, such as police, fire protection and parks.

Democrats say they’ve cut county spending and haven’t raised the countywide property tax rate since 1991. Eaves said the AJC analysis “indicates that we are not way out there (on spending), like some people have tried to portray us.”

For now, Democrats hold the upper hand on the County Commission, with five of seven seats. But Republicans have used big majorities in the Legislature to turn the tables.

This year they froze Fulton’s tax rate and redrew County Commission districts to give Republicans a shot at a majority.

Next year they’ll consider more changes. The biggest: a property tax cut approved by the House but still awaiting action in the Senate that would mean an extra $308 to the owner of a $300,000 home at current tax rates. It would cost the county about $48 million in revenue, which Fulton officials say could devastate funding for programs such as libraries, senior services and Grady Memorial Hospital.

State House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey, R-Atlanta, said Fulton should turn its social services over to the cities, which he believes can better decide which services to offer.

North Fulton cities could opt to pay little or nothing for programs serving the disadvantaged. Other cities, such as Atlanta, College Park and East Point, could decide to fund those programs through taxes their residents formerly paid to the county.

“It comes down to who makes that decision,” Lindsey said, “and what is the most efficient way.”