Annexation is About Services                                     Sandtown Annexation by Atlanta Annexation Fact Sheet

At the July 13 meeting at the library, Commissioner Emma Darnell pointed out that the thing residents are most interested in is services, particularly essential life safety services like police, fire and 911.  People are more concerned about the caliber and timeliness of services than the governmental entity whose name is on the vehicle or what color it is painted.   She also reminded us that it is the firefighter, who is typically the first responder in a medical emergency and how they make the difference often between life and death in those critical moments.  What is of importance in making comparisons is not just how much we will pay, but how quickly can the police or firefighters arrive at your home or our schools, or will you be on hold when you call 911.  We know the current response times for Fulton and the City of Atlanta;  who can tell me what are the response times for the city of South Fulton?  What are the city services that Fulton County provides that a new city must provide or contract for in addition to police, fire, 911 and EMS? Municipal Courts, animal control, jails, water distribution, sewage collection, sewage treatment, roads construction and maintenance, building construction and maintenance, erosion and sediment control, stormwater management, parks maintenance, recreation programs, planning and zoning, permitting and inspections, code enforcement, GIS...the list goes on. I commend Commissioner Darnell on the courage and integrity she showed choosing not to influence but to give facts. I also thank Tax Commissioner Arthur Ferdinand for his excellent presentation of empirical and quantifiable information – devoid of opinions about what he thinks we should do.   I believe those that listened objectively last night will realize that the ability of Fulton County to continue to provide critical emergency services is in doubt - if Sandtown remains unincorporated or becomes part of the a new city of South Fulton.   Folks will also figure out that all these new cities will pay more in taxes and fees as well.  As Fulton county announces plans to lay off firefighters (AJC article below), some naively think Fulton will still have the capacity to provide the same caliber of essential transition services for a few more years to new cities while they attempt to build their own departments. The current facts demonstrate the danger of wishful thinking.  While Fulton’s staff for city services rapidly dissolves does Sandtown really want to assume these services will still be there as city of South Fulton’s transition period would continue until October 31, 2008?  How many Fulton County Police and Firefighters do you want to “bet your life” will be around two years from now? Ask yourself which of the options do you think is most likely to provide the critical services you count on?  Take a look at the checklist of services a new city must provide and ask yourself do you really want to start a city from scratch?  With new North Fulton cities of Milton and Johns Creek likely to form this year as Sandy Springs continues to hire from Fulton County, the city of South Fulton would be last in line trying to recruit what few police and firefighters linger with Fulton County….…think about it!   Annexation Fact Sheet   There are currently up to 40 types of different annexation campaigns in Fulton County.  Some will succeed and some will not.  We anticipate fewer residents to be in unincorporated FC, and tax increases will be needed to support a new city. Sandtown's annexation effort is about choice and the community having input on their own destiny.  If the annexation campaign fails, our future is tied in with the remaining portions of unincorporated, and we lose the ability to choose later. For 2006, Fulton County will have the lowest millage rate but that corresponds with minimal service levels, which is less than what residents have received in the past. There is a staffing shortage in Fulton County, due to the flight to work for the new cities, bonuses are being discussed to keep personnel and that is greater use of tax dollars. Newly hired staff personnel have a learning curve and will take time to get up to speed in conducting County business efficiently.  Our tax dollars will not be optimized, meaning we will be getting far less than in the past. The Fulton County School Board has not responded to the overcrowding, ingress/egress issues. Other communities that send their children to Sandtown schools passing others in route will have to attend other Fulton County schools, if Sandtown becomes part of the Atlanta School System. While student enrollment is on the rise in Fulton County, it is decreasing in the city of Atlanta.  The student-teacher ratio is 1 and 16 versus Sandtown schools, which is 1 and 29. Atlanta Public School teacher salaries are higher than Fulton County Atlanta Public School test scores are inching up, whereas Fulton County remains stagnant. For the last 11 years, the 4 high schools in South Fulton have performed below the county, state and national averages.  Fulton County has not developed a strategy to help the South Fulton Schools Water surcharge on your bill disappears, if part of the city of Atlanta city water bill is 20-30% lower than a similar bill for an unincorporated resident of Fulton County In Fulton County, would have to pay to get bulk trash pick up reinstated Fulton county's tax on cable does not apply in city of Atlanta With decreased service levels, longer police and ambulance waits, lead to higher insurance costs on property and automobile coverage Park recreation programs are staffed by parents in Fulton County due to budget cuts.  Higher county taxes will cover this staffing issue. $300K that Sandtown was to receive to buy new park space, has disappeared Commitments to provide economic development to attract commercial Other services that are impacted and not fully supported by our current tax dollars include: municipal court and the county jail (overcrowding and failure to move on  arrest warrants) police: transfer of criminal evidence and case files) fire protection 911 service ambulance emergency services animal control water distribution sewage collection sewage treatment street maintenance/construction storm water management (runoff and flooding) erosion and sediment control code enforcement school roads                                                                                 Sandtown Annexation by Atlanta   back to top