Residents of a swath just north of Buckhead are close to voting on whether to become Georgia's newest city under a bill passed Monday by the state Senate.
Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta, sponsored House Bill 636, which proposes a new city of Brookhaven if residents agree. The vote on incorporation would be held in July.
The bill passed the House in February. Since then, a Senate committee has made a change to the bill to ban current state lawmakers from serving as city attorney for the proposed municipality for four years following incorporation. The bill already contained a four-year ban upon incorporation to keep lawmakers from serving as mayor.
Jacobs, who is an attorney, said he had no interest in either job. He also backed the name "Brookhaven" for the new city, despite opposition from some neighbors who have tried to change the name to "Ashford."
Some members of the Senate's DeKalb County delegation, including its chairman, Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, took issue with the bill, saying it was being rushed through passage despite unclear financial consequences for both the proposed city and the county.
The bill passed on a 36-14 vote. Because changes were made, the bill now heads back to the House.
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