About Dunwoody reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2021)
10 | Commentary Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News Reporter Newspapers Our mission is to provide our readers with fresh and engaging information about life in their communities. Commentary / City annexations and tax abatements need reform Editor’s note: Annexations and tax breaks have become politically contentious issues between many county and city governments. DeKalb County and Brookhaven have been involved in recent legal disputes over both issues; in Atlanta, the city government and pub lic school system have demanded more control over tax abatements granted by Fulton County’s development authority. The Report er asked state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver to explain a package of legislation she is proposing to reform annexations and abatements. Published by Springs Publishing P. O. 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Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing. The creation of the new city of Sandy Springs in 2005 after political control of the Georgia General Assembly shifted to the Republicans impacted the local gov ernments of existing cities and counties throughout the Atlanta region. Since 2005, all of Fulton County has been municipalized with the creation of new cities of Milton, Johns Creek and South Fulton and the expansion of ex isting cities. In DeKalb County, the city of Dunwoody was created in 2008, Brookhaven in 2012, Tucker in 2016, and Stonecrest in 2017. Other new cit ies have been proposed, the voters have voted against a few, and legislation to create more municipalities will be filed in the 2021 session. In and around all these incorporations are related annex ations and expansions of new city lines with and without opposition, and many lawsuits. For many of these political creations, opposition has been contentious and costly, whether it has come from citi zens or businesses. It is also true, howev er, that the new cities are popular with most voters, and the annexations have benefited businesses and cities. What is not clear is whether these changes have benefited the larger number of citizens who continue to live in unincorporated portions of counties. None of these new cities or annex ations has been examined in view of comprehensive planning or econom ic development of the counties impact ed. And most have offered new forms of tax benefits to developers and property owners as inducements to annexations. My district, HD 82, includes parts of Decatur, Brookhaven, Chamblee and Tucker, and has been ground central in a variety of cityhood and annexa tion proposals. Prior maps have includ ed my neighborhood of Druid Hills in efforts to incorporate what remains of unincorporated DeKalb County. I have filed proposed legislation (House Bills 23, 24 and 66) to strength en the two existing statutes that pro vide oversight to an nexations and issu ance of bonds in tax abatement offerings (OCGA 36-36-110 and 111, and OCGA 36- 82-77). The purpose of these measures is to provide greater transparency and al low participation by impacted local gov ernments, including school systems. My first priority is to create public discus sion for citizens and all the interested governments and stakeholders to pro pose how we can improve the statutory processes for annexations and new cit ies. OCGA Title 36-36-110 et seq provides a procedure for a county to object to a petition for annexation filed with a city and for the Department of Community Affairs to create arbitration panels to hear the dispute based on specific stan dards, and this procedure most recently has been used by DeKalb County to ob ject to an annexation filed by the city of Brookhaven. My bill, HB 23, gives the lo cal Board of Education ability to file an objection to an annexation and utilize the arbitration panel review process. The companion proposal, HB 24, amends the Title 36-36-111 et seq annex ation procedure by requiring the notice of the filing of the annexation petition to disclose any proposed tax abate ments, rebates or other financial incen tives that a development authority of fers the annexing property owners. Finally, HB 66 grants standing to any local school sys tem or other govern ing authority peti tioning for revenue bond validation un der OCGA 36-82-77. Recently, a DeKalb Superior Court judge granted standing to DeKalb County School District in a bond validation pro ceeding over the objection of a develop ment authority. Since prefiling these bills in No vember, I have met with lawyers for Brookhaven and DeKalb County and representatives from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and Georgia Cities United, and I have solic ited advice from many others. From these discussions, I have made changes to early drafts based on good and gener ous advice. I am ready to and hope we can continue these helpful discussions in hearings before the House Govern mental Affairs Committee and its new chair, Darlene Taylor. Our current systems for city cre ation and the multiple annexation pro cedures need reform to create greater transparency and participation. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) is the state representative for District 82, which includes part of Brookhaven. STAY SAFE BUT STAY CONNECTED. * > @Reporter_Neus Instagram and Tuitter • • n rfi l l flr ■r DUN
