Senate Study Committee on Annexation, Deannexation and Incorporation September 22, 2015 Ted Baggett Associate Director, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA

Municipal Incorporation in GA Georgia Law requires that: ●there be a minimum residential population of 200 persons. ● there be an average residential population of 200 persons per square mile. ● at least 60 percent of the total number of lots and tracks must be used for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, or governmental purposes at the time of incorporation. ● shall be subdivided into lots and tracts such that at least 60 percent of the total residential acreage, consists of lots and tracts of five acres or less in size. In Georgia, provided the above requirements are met, all that is required is an Act of the General Assembly. (All of the recent legislation has provided that the proposed city be subject to a referendum within the area proposed for incorporation.)

Incorporation Votes- last decade City Referendum Date Pro %Con % Creation Date 2010 Population Sandy Springs6/21/ %6.3%12/1/ Johns Creek7/18/ %11.9%12/1/ Milton7/18/ %14.4%12/1/ Chattahoochee Hills 6/19/ %16.4%12/1/ South Fulton6/19/ %84.7% Dunwoody11/4/ %18.8%12/1/ Peachtree Corners 11/8/ %43.0%7/1/ Brookhaven7/31/ %45.3%12/17/

Feasibility Studies House Committee on Governmental Affairs Rules require that these be performed prior to the passage of a bill and that the incorporation bill must be introduced in the first session of the biennium.

Feasibility Studies - Methodology Studies are intended to serve as tests for likely fiscal feasibility, not as proposed budgets. Based on what is currently being collected in revenue from the study area - will ends meet needs for services to be provided by the proposed city?

Feasibility Studies - Methodology Each county’s revenue and service delivery arrangements are different. i.e. some counties have a LOST, but DeKalb has a HOST. Have tried to look at expenditures by peer cities wherever possible because hard to estimate costs of county in providing services to a section of the unincorporated area.

Municipal Incorporation Across States Georgia is one of only 7 states that require legislative enactment of a bill and do not provide for a petition mechanism. The overwhelming majority of states (34) provide for a petition process that requires petitions bearing signatures be provided to an entity not part of the legislature for evaluation of compliance with state created minimum criteria prior to proceeding to a referendum. Petition requirements typically provide that there be set boundaries, and some minimum % of voters and or land owners. Studies could be made a part of the petition review process.

Municipal Incorporation Petition States 12 states provide for a mechanism to submit petitions to a court: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Municipal Incorporation Petition States 15 states require approval of the county commission of the county in which the area is located: Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Washington

Municipal Incorporation Petition States 6 states require the approval of a specially created boundary commission or a state agency: Alaska, California, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Petitions in Georgia Process ? Citizens for Sandy Springs submitted a petition in bearing signatures of 23,000 registered voters.