Too many counties in Metro Atlanta hinders unity and regional progression. (Savannah: schools, to live in)

[Atlwarrior]

Could you imagine what the region could accomplish if it was just Fulton, Dekalb, and Gwinnett. Plain and simple it is just too many forms of Government. Could you imagine the money and things that could be accomplish with more intergrated and not complex local government. The Atlanta region is just like a mini version of Europe. If you favorite one part of the region someone will have a problem with it. It will truly take a miracle for the region to see eye to eye on certain things. Then once you get out of Atlanta and Georgia. You must then deal with disunity with the other States that do not want Georgia economy to expand, like silly South Carolina by trying to hinder the Savannah deepening water projects. People must understanding that when one person or city in the region wins, it benefits the whole region.

[912]

I'm familiar with the historic reasons for GA having as many counties as she does, but it's still way too many. A 50% reduction in the number of counties, long term, would save taxpayers untold sums of money!

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by 912

I'm familiar with the historic reasons for GA having as many counties as she does, but it's still way too many. A 50% reduction in the number of counties, long term, would save taxpayers untold sums of money!

It will never happen; there's even a movement afoot in North Fulton to break away and reconstitute Milton County!

The best avenue for Georgia to go is more city-county consolidations; we are one of the few states in the nation where this has proven popular with voters and successful from an economic standpoint. Macon-Bibb County are the latest to put this before the voters next week; in Metro Atlanta it could easily be accomplished in Conyers-Rockdale, Douglas-Douglasville, Cumming-Forsyth, Griffin-Spalding, and probably even Newnan-Coweta. You could easily eliminate an entire layer of government in half of Metro Atlanta (and the state) this way.

[bryantm3]

i agree but i have no idea how you'd convince all the counties that would get the heave to go along with it. people from GA do not know— as i'm a GA native i didn't know either, GA has smaller counties than 46 states. the only states with smaller average county sizes are virginia, which has a system where every city limit is an independent county, rhode island, which needs no explanation, and kentucky which has a similar county system as we do.

the only state that has more counties than we do is texas, which is more than twice as big as we are. we have way too many counties and it costs too much money, especially in rural regions of georgia, to have so many separate county governments. in addition it creates a pain in the ass in metro regions like atlanta which consists of upwards of 20 counties.

as the city governments are taking over most of the duties of the county in fulton and dekalb, it might be a possibility to combine counties in the future, but as it is now i don't expect any change soon.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i agree but i have no idea how you'd convince all the counties that would get the heave to go along with it. people from GA do not know— as i'm a GA native i didn't know either, GA has smaller counties than 46 states. the only states with smaller average county sizes are virginia, which has a system where every city limit is an independent county, rhode island, which needs no explanation, and kentucky which has a similar county system as we do.

the only state that has more counties than we do is texas, which is more than twice as big as we are. we have way too many counties and it costs too much money, especially in rural regions of georgia, to have so many separate county governments. in addition it creates a pain in the ass in metro regions like atlanta which consists of upwards of 20 counties.

as the city governments are taking over most of the duties of the county in fulton and dekalb, it might be a possibility to combine counties in the future, but as it is now i don't expect any change soon.

Who would voluntarily be part of DeKalb County? And even so, if there were only 3 large counties instead of 9 or 10, the diversity of needs and opinions in those counties would probably render them dysfunctional. In other words, someone is still going to live in Fayette County, even if it is called something else.

What we need is a stronger, smarter state legislature that understands and appreciates that Metro Atlanta is really the economic engine of the state and treats it as such. We also need better state legislators from the metro area, who can really work with each other for the good of the area. (A girl can dream, right?)

I would agree with you about the rural counties. There are actually counties that have discussed merging, but often the schools are the hold up.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

Could you imagine what the region could accomplish if it was just Fulton, Dekalb, and Gwinnett. Plain and simple it is just too many forms of Government.

That isn't the crux of the issue, by itself. The issue is a lack of a spirit of cooperation, and that comes from a long history of no cooperation.

It can be overcome. I've seen it happen. But it requires a change in attitudes.

[atlantagreg30127]

This has been a problem across the country, not just here, and even on a national level.

It would solve a lot of problems if the State would just step in and say, "Metro Atlanta needs this - and it's being built - if you don't like it, move", and be done with it. But the rise of angry villagers would never allow that to happen. The same way with national issues - far too many things are left as "state by state" laws, when in fact certain issues should just be made into Federal laws that all states have to follow in exactly the same way.

Progression is always held back by fragmentation. But unfortunately, fragmentation is the form of government we have in this country now and it will probably remain that way for a good while longer. To try to get everyone to adhere to a set of standards and laws draws cries of "Socialism.... Communism!", hence, we're not likely to see any other way of doing things.