Fulton County Georgia: Encyclopedia II - Fulton County Georgia - Politics

Fulton County Georgia - Politics

Residents, in part still reacting to Atlanta annexing 118 square miles in 1952, have commonly identified with being not Atlanta more than being associated with Atlanta. This has caused a desire in unincorporated areas to incorporate to block the future annexation growth of Atlanta. Over time the arguments have become economic in nature. In recent years residents of upscale, higher-income areas of northern Fulton County have become at odds with the less affluent areas of its central and south, over taxes and distribution of services. Many of the economic engines in Fulton County were established by the County prior to being annexed into cities. Once created, residents desired to keep the monies generated by these areas close to home, instead of distributed over the whole County as required by the the legislature. In 2005 the legislature directed Fulton County, alone in all the counties in the state, to limit the expenditure of funds to the geograhpic region of the county where they were collected.

Fulton County Georgia - Secession

One solution which has come up frequently during the 2000s is for north Fulton to secede, again becoming Milton County. This time it would include Roswell, as well as its original county seat of Alpharetta, and the neighborhood incorporated as Mountain Park. Some proposals call for it to include Sandy Springs as well, though it has always been in Fulton County and not in Milton. One of those proposals is being studied by a commission set up by the Georgia General Assembly during its 2005 session.

Any change in Georgia's county borders requires the consent of any county whose territory is involved, and the state legislature. In addition, any attempt to divide Fulton would require a constitutional amendment to the Georgia state constitution, in order for more than 159 counties to exist.

Fulton County Georgia - Municipalization

Since the 1970s, the longest-running battle has been allowing Sandy Springs to incorporate. With over 80,000 residents, it is already one of the largest cities in the state. It had not become a city until December 2005, however, due to the facts that the legislature had prohibited the creation of new cities within three miles of any existing city and the reallocation of funding which would take at least 20 million dollars away from the county every year, not be offset by the services the new city would take over. In 2005, the legislature finally allowed a referendum on the matter, and on June 21 Sandy Springs residents voted 94% in favor of incorporation. The new city was officially incorporated on December 1, 2005, though the county will continue to provide most services under contract through sometime in 2007.

Since 2004, municipalization of the entire county is also being considered, which would incorporate every area into a city. This would essentially eliminate the county's home rule powers (granted in the 1960s) to act as a municipality in unincorporated areas, and return it to being entirely a local extension of state government. At least one proposal would create several small cities, even where there are no longer towns to base them in.

If Milton were to become a county again, incorporating the relatively undeveloped northern and eastern corners of it would eliminate the need for much new government for a new county, though it would also create a need for two new city governments, possibly without a large enough tax base to support one or either of them. Incorporating the southwest of the county (formerly part of Campbell County) would be difficult, as the cities are really only smaller towns, and the unincorporated areas are quite large and not necessarily near any of them.

Fulton County Georgia - Other options

Other options which may be considered:

• Under current Georgia law, the city of Atlanta could merge government with Fulton County's, becoming a consolidated city-county. This could be complicated by the fact that part of Atlanta is in another county, and by the presence of other large cities in Fulton.

• Consolidation could also occur by reducing Fulton County down to only Atlanta, or to Atlanta and its immediate neighbors, leaving no unincorporated areas. This would also put the Atlanta-in-DeKalb area into Fulton, and require two new counties in the north and southwest.

• Atlanta could be made an independent city and if possible, they may change the official city name into The Corporation of Fulton County(Simply as City of Fulton County but the seat will remain in Atlanta thus the former city governments are abolished and the County Governments will turn into a legal city government), taking it out of both Fulton and DeKalb entirely. This would be difficult until more urban development can improve the city's tax base, and until the state begins to give significant support for MARTA and Grady Hospital (which serve the entire metro area but are paid for almost entirely by the city and county). Doing this would split Fulton County, requiring the remaining parts to become another two counties.

• Extraterritorial jurisdiction could be allowed, though statutory restrictions on the distance this could extend from an existing city may make it difficult to reach the far corners of the unusually-shaped and very unevenly-populated county. ETJ could also become a problem if boundaries are not organized and agreed upon at the beginning, which could spark further confusion and political discord if it becomes a first-come, first-served situation. ETJ is also mainly a zoning function, and thus may not be a complete solution.

• A different type of municipal or civil division could be created, such as a town or township. This could give independent local boards certain ETJ-like powers, but unlike a new city still allow for annexation by existing cities. This option could be politically complicated, as it would make a change which would likely have a statewide effect. The only neighboring state with townships is North Carolina, where they are considered county divisions.

• With the approval of the legislature, the far ends of the county could join other counties with their consent. The north end could rejoin Forsyth County, bringing the heavy business tax base of Alpharetta into the heavily-residential and still largely rural exurban county. The largely-undeveloped southwest end could rejoin with Douglas County, as they were originally under Campbell County.

Some of those options (except the first two and last) would also require an amendment passed by two-thirds of both the state house and senate, and a statewide referendum. Most have not yet been widely discussed, though the idea of consolidation has recently been mentioned by at least one state legislator.

Fulton County Georgia - Reorganization issues

Other issues which would have to be considered in a split of Fulton County are how assets would be distributed or shared, including the water system. Sales taxes, such as for MARTA, would also have to be passed on to any successors of the county, or replaced, preferably without a lapse. A new county would also require a new courthouse for state court, and new cities would each require a new city hall. Up to April 2005, these only seem to be in the idea stage, with no actual planning except for Sandy Springs.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Politics", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki