LAST WEEK: IS CREATING CITY OF UNICORPORATED SOUTH FULTON A GOOD IDEA?
The push for cityhood throughout metro Atlanta has resulted in several new municipalities in the northern part of the region. Seeking similar benefits, a group has formed in the last decade or so in South Fulton. Although their efforts haven’t been successful in the past, the leadership has an unwavering mission to see their dream fulfilled.
But is it what everyone wants? Or even a majority of residents in South Fulton County? A previous poll indicated that a very small faction (22 percent) wanted cityhood while 56 percent were opposed and another 22 percent were unsure.
So last week we asked for your opinion.
Here’s what readers had to say:
My answer is NO. Based on the proponents idea of local control, fiscal feasibility, same school district and public services is basically the same as a township. What I would prefer to see from our legislators is to introduce a bill in the house to amend the current laws to allow for townships in Georgia.
Also, I have lived in this area for over 40 years and I see that what we really need is to increase the neighborhood involvement with our Fulton County Board and challenge them directly to provide for what we really deserve. I suspect that the level of involvement will be the same as it has been with or without a city. Let talk townships in Georgia.
John A. Jones
I would like to stay unincorporated South Fulton County or annex in with College Park.
D. Edenton
The proposed new city is a horrible idea. There is an insufficient commercial tax base, meaning that future tax burden will fall on residents. There is really no reason for it in even — just an effort to copy Northside. If it is necessary to be in a city, Atlanta is a better alternative.
Michael C.
In 2007, residents of South Fulton defeated the initial referendum for a new city with 85 percent of the voters rejecting the proposal. What has changed in South Fulton to make the sponsors think voters will approve it? The area has the promise for economic development and yet over the last eight years, there has not been any significant economic development other than we are working on it.
Did it every occur that one of the major attractions for economic development is a rocking educational system? Fulton is a rocking educational system, but in North Fulton, not South Fulton. SAT scores remain the same for the last 10 years and the state of Georgia still ranks in the bottom when compared to other states. Gang violence and societal ills serve as distractions and obstacles for some children to learn. Fulton county has not developed the strategy to address the concerns of children in South Fulton to learn and excel and there has been silence from our political leaders to finding viable and effective solutions.
In today’s environment, families cannot thrive nor support themselves off of working for Walmart, fast food places and strip malls. Our leaders are trying to convince voters that with a promise, we can make a difference. Short term a new city would be a windfall not for taxpayers, but the leaders who would be elected. They would receive salaries or compensation that they would be able to provide for their families and then tell the voters who are struggling to wait.
I only say that because eight years have passed and the same leaders who are proposing a new city have done little to provide meaningful economic development.
The feasibility study that is the basis for the recommendation for a new city only speaks to that the city is possible. The study does not speak to the new city being the fourth in the state with residents living below the poverty level. The study does not address what type of credit rating a new city would have and how that impacts auto/home insurance, ability to borrow money or other cities already in existence.
There are examples of cities that are possible. If you look to the state of Michigan or California, there are several examples of cities that could not meet their obligations. Has anyone ever thought of why traffic and the environment around the city of Atlanta has not improved.
Could it be that for there to be change, you need to get all the cities involved to agree? And with so many examples of new cities who were allowed to start and now competing for the same employers, the same services and the same resources, that might be a clue to the slow pace in cleaning up the air and the expansion of mass transit.
We are all working against each other as opposed to recognizing there are limited resources; and how we utilize them should be based on decisions founded along common grounds and common purposes. Boy, if our leaders on both sides of the aisle could get that together, wouldn’t Georgia be able to live up to what Dr. Martin Luther King stood for.
Change is here and long-term the landscape will change. I suggest that further deliberation is needed and that the decision to vote for a fifth city is premature. It appears our leaders are reacting to the emotion to have our own city. Well in the current cities, we already have that and there is nothing compelling to support a decision to keep doing the same thing.
John A. Davis
— Dionne Kinch for the AJC
An ongoing dispute within the Henry County Board of Commissioners has raised questions about who has authority to do what in county government.
Chairman Tommy Smith, elected countywide, filed suit in November against the other five commissioners, elected in their respective districts. Smith’s complaint alleges that “there is uncertainty as to the exercise of the authority and duties delegated to him by the General Assembly” and that his authority “has been largely usurped by the Board of Commissioners illegally and in an unconstitutional manner.”
The following month the board passed a resolution requesting that the county’s legislative delegation “submit legislation clarifying the authority of the Board of Commissioners, the County Manager and the Chairperson.” The motion passed 5-1, with Smith voting against.
Commissioner Brian Preston said at that meeting that the issue has become personal for Smith and has brought the county notoriety for the wrong reason. He and fellow commissioner Bruce Holmes charged that Smith’s action stems from frustration over his inability to terminate certain county employees, a responsibility that has typically lay with the county manager.
Smith maintains that his office was established by a voter referendum and should only be changed by the same method. He has also suggested that he, as an elected official and the chief executive officer of the county, should handle many of the duties now undertaken by the county manager, who is appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
The county’s legislative delegation is expected to push through a bill on the matter within the next few weeks, and it could make Smith’s lawsuit moot. Who is right, and who should decide?
What do you think? Leave your comments here or send them by email to communitynews@ajc.com.
About the Author
