Bill aims to ease Georgia de-annexations, with implications for Mableton

Chart Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·2 min read
1

Feb. 17—Bipartisan legislation filed in the General Assembly this week could ease Georgia's protocols for removing residents from cities, with implications for the Mableton de-annexation movement.

The bill from state Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, would change the present system in which the city government can choose to deny de-annexation requests. A request can only come when 100% of the property owners in a given area ask to leave the city.

Instead, the bill would remove the city's power to object "unless it finds that the de-annexation would be detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare" of the area.

The proposal — HB 374 — has the support of two Cobb lawmakers: State Reps. John Carson, R-north Cobb, and David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs. Carson said the proposal came out of a study committee on the issue.

And Wilkerson, an ardent supporter of the efforts to slice off several precincts from Mableton, said the bill has "nothing to do with Mableton, per se."

"All these counties are having issues with ... the creation of cities, and people getting stuck in cities and not wanting to be in there. So it's been an ongoing issue," Wilkerson said. "There's different methods to get into a city, but it's almost impossible to get out in a lot of ways ... I am getting people from across the state saying, you know, we're having the same issue."

But while not directly in response to the Mableton efforts, where thousands have asked to be left out of the city before it's even up and running, Wilkerson said it would ease their efforts.

"That is definitely the case. They will benefit from it," he said.

In addition to the 100% method, the bill would add an additional pathway to de-annexation if 60% of the voters and 60% of the property owners in an area support it (that threshold is also used for requests to be annexed into a city).

Thomas, the bill's sponsor, said the city would have an opportunity to object under the 60% method, at which point the dispute could enter an arbitration panel.

Deputy Cobb County Manager Jimmy Gisi said the county "does not have a position on (the bill) at this time."

While the bill could smooth the road ahead for Mableton opponents, Wilkerson said it's not the end all, be all for the de-annexation movement. He said he expects to file his own legislation in the next two weeks addressing that issue.