Redistricting spurs re-examination of Georgia’s many counties
The General Assembly’s redistricting session has reignited the issue of Milton County. The proposed maps for the state House and Senate would shift the majority in each chamber’s Fulton delegation to Republicans, many of whom want to re-carve that erstwhile county out of North Fulton.
It will be an intense debate during the next two or three years — the minimum time it would take for new districts to first be used in an election, then play a role in putting Milton County back on the map.
But as I sat through a Tuesday legislative hearing, I was also struck by Georgia’s smallest counties.
Georgia, as you may know, has 159 counties, second only to Texas. We have 180 state House seats. Yet dozens of our counties are too small to qualify for their own House district.
The average district, after the 2010 census put Georgia’s population at just less than 9.7 million, will have 53,820 people.
Only 39 of our counties are so populous. The other 120 counties together contain just one-quarter of all Georgians.
Break down the counties into thirds, and the bottom tier would have nine state representatives, the middle tier 23 — and the top tier a whopping 148.
In fact, the dozen smallest counties’ populations combined are about 3,000 people shy of the average district size.
This disparity, of course, in part reflects the extremely rapid growth of metro Atlanta relative to the rest of the state. Consider some comparisons between the least-populated counties and the state’s largest high schools in 2010:
- Seven counties had fewer people than the largest high school, Gwinnett’s Mill Creek.
- Speaking of Gwinnett, its total high school enrollment in 2010 (44,971) exceeded the total populations of 115 counties.
- The smallest county is Taliaferro in east Georgia, with 1,717 residents. There were 81 Georgia high schools with more students than that.
The trend lines suggest the gap will only grow.
But the disparity is also a vestige of Georgia’s county-unit system, which gave small, rural counties disproportionate clout in state government. That advantage — abolished in the 1960s — made it beneficial for them to exist in as many little fiefdoms as possible.
Today, this splintering gives people in those areas little — other than higher costs for maintaining separate county governments, sheriff’s departments and school systems.
The argument for merging small counties to achieve efficiencies in government costs has been obvious for a while, to no avail. But Tuesday’s hearing made me think mergers might give them better representation under the Gold Dome, too.
At the Legislature, they are tied to other small counties — proposed House District 151 in southwest Georgia comprises eight counties and part of a ninth — making it hard for their lawmakers to represent their (often competing) interests equally and adequately.
Either that, or they are tacked onto a district dominated by a much larger city or county, whose residents elect one of their own to represent them in Atlanta.
But if smaller counties were merged, they would have one unified local government, at a lower cost to taxpayers. It could set unified priorities, which could then be better represented at the state level.
What these counties’ residents lost in hyperlocal control, they might gain in powers now held by the state. If they were a bit larger, the General Assembly could contemplate transferring more authority to local control. Today, 30 counties can’t even maintain their own websites.
Before the next redistricting in 2021, lawmakers would do well not only to argue about Milton County, but to study how consolidating smaller counties might make government work better for them.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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91 comments Add your comment
No artificial flavors
August 18th, 2011
10:59 am
Ahh, good point about Houston Tx, Kyle.
UGA 1999
August 18th, 2011
11:06 am
I wonder if these people voted for Senator McCain??
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1bc_1313635526
GA Faithful
August 18th, 2011
11:10 am
Just as someone said earlier, these are some of the same individuals on either side of the political coin…zig-zag Zells. It doesnt matter what county is split into what county. The objective is to manipulate voting, land deals, etc.
UGA 1999
August 18th, 2011
11:29 am
Recession 2.0 coming our way soon!
Junior Samples
August 18th, 2011
11:39 am
Seen it before…
Sandy Springs was once it’s own city, then they ‘unincorporated’ because they couldn’t handle running a city on their own -asking Fulton and City of Atlanta for help. Years go by. Now it’s ‘get your hands out of our wallets’.
Fine. Whatever.
We’ll see you back in a few years. On your knees. Palms outstretched. Asking for help.
Again…
Hillbilly D
August 18th, 2011
11:42 am
Today, this splintering gives people in those areas little — other than higher costs for maintaining separate county governments, sheriff’s departments and school systems.
This is a common argument but I believe a mistaken one. If you combine two counties, you’ll have one sheriff’s department, etc, but it will still be as big as when it was 2 counties. Same number of cars, same number of deputies, etc. The sheriff will probably see an increase in salary because he has “more responsibility”.
But if smaller counties were merged, they would have one unified local government, at a lower cost to taxpayers. It could set unified priorities, which could then be better represented at the state level.
As a resident of a small county, I like the fact that when I need to conduct business with the county, I’m dealing with somebody that I know and who knows me, rather than a total stranger. If counties were consolidated, I would also probably be 25 miles from the court house, rather than 10.
I doubt the “lower cost to taxpayers” would ever materialize. In my opinion, the only real change that would come from consolidating counties, in rural Georgia, is that it would move government a little father away from the people. Do we really want to do that?
UGA 1999
August 18th, 2011
11:46 am
One of these things is not like the others….one of these things just doesn’t belong.
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/thousands-jam-atlanta-job-1119986.html?bigName=&bigPhotog=&bigCap=A+job+fair+at+Atlanta+Technical+College+sponsored+by+the+Congressional+Black+Caucus+drew+long+lines+on+Thursday.&bigDeclCap=&bigCred=&bigUrl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ajc.com%2fmultimedia%2fdynamic%2f01088%2fjobfair1_1088626c.jpg&superSizeImage=y
luangtom
August 18th, 2011
11:49 am
Do not eliminate the positions of Sheriff in counties to save money. It is the highest elected law enforcement official in the land. He or she answer to the voters, not the entity that appointed them, as proposed by many. Look at how political the Chief of Police position is in Atlanta and other larger communities. They are political-lackeys of the commission or board that appoints them. They do not answer to voters, they answer to a board that put them there for political purposes.
As to if there should be a Milton County, one needs to ask if Fulton County is run efficiently and in the best interest of all citizens. The loss of tax-base for one county to the benefit of creating another also needs to be addressed. Is this a viable solution or not? Is Milton going to be able to support itself in the future or will they need to be subsidized or risk falling into the very same predicament that abolished them in the first place decades ago? All are interesting questions and will not be rectified in any discussion on a forum.
carlosgvv
August 18th, 2011
11:56 am
UGA 1999 11:06
The people attending the dogfights are the ones who voted for McCain.
Hillbilly D
August 18th, 2011
11:58 am
I have no dog in the Fulton/Milton fight but it’s worth noting that both are very different places than they were in 1932.
Jefferson
August 18th, 2011
11:59 am
So if consolidation is so good, no need to bow down the white flite that wants to be Milton Co.
We lost our way
August 18th, 2011
12:15 pm
In the next two years you will see several counties consolidate into one. The coming double dip or depression will force this move. Also to the comments about the courthouse would be to far to drive; the new county can set up satillite offices for Tags/Taxes and other misc. services. The State currently does this for several agenices across the state.It will happen,just a matter of time and economics.
Tea Party Hobbit
August 18th, 2011
12:16 pm
Well, the counties can’t get much more corrupt or dysfunctional then they are now, so maybe consolidation wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Ah, and how many of you realized that south Fulton was once part of DeKalb. Granted, it was back in the Marthasville days…
Hillbilly D
August 18th, 2011
12:22 pm
TEa Party Hobbit
And DeKalb was once a part of Henry.
yuzeyurbrane
August 18th, 2011
12:27 pm
I agree but doubt it will ever happen. We are more likely to add 1 county, Milton, to make it 160. While there are some good arguments for a Milton County (community of similar interests, geog. contiguity, etc.), motivation now is 100% political.
Common Sense
August 18th, 2011
12:51 pm
Recreate Milton County.
Fulton County is just too large. You could not drive from the southernmost point of Fulton County to the northernmost part, staying on county roads, in under 6 hours.
It’s an hour and a half using the interstate and cutting through other counties.
It’s an hour to the courthouse when you are called for jury duty in North Fulton.
Those in different ends of the county have different needs and concerns. All are best served by local government, not distant government.
Kyle Wingfield
August 18th, 2011
12:58 pm
NoDawgs @ 7:01: To be clear, I’m not talking about forcing them. Encouraging or incentivizing them, maybe; persuading them, yes.
Plato @ 8:10: Having a cutoff of 15,000 per county would reduce us to about 139 counties. Setting it at 10,000 would mean about 150.
But, speaking more broadly, I don’t know that a particular cutoff is appropriate. I don’t think one size fits all on this question. When I say they should undertake a consolidation study over the next 10 years, I might be optimistic — a lot of thought would have to go into consolidation for it to yield truly better results…for some of the reasons others have noted.
The Ghost of Lester Maddox
August 18th, 2011
1:09 pm
Hee hee hee.
How charming.
Merge counties? On the day that Constitutional Officials (Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Probate Judge, Magistrate Judge, etc.) are willing to voluntarilly give up their salaries, their retirements, and their perks, then we’ll see mergers of counties.
Y’all let me know when you find one – even ONE – politician who is willing to give up their livelihood on the public payroll in the interest of efficiency.
Yeah boy.
Delvon
August 18th, 2011
1:15 pm
One alternative to creating county #160 would be to annex north Fulton into one of the other counties it abuts, e.g. Gwinnett or Forsyth.
THE "REAL" TRUTH
August 18th, 2011
1:31 pm
I was a transplant to Atlanta, as many in the region are. (I am now on the west coast). The one thing that confounded me and most of my friends for other states, was the incredibly high number of counties in GA. Further, the ridiculous amount of various municipal/county agencies. Seems like a complete waste of money and duplicative efforts. I recall traveling to work one morning on 285 heading into Vinings. There was a disabled vehicle against the median wall, just barely out of the fast lane. I immediately called 911 to get the lady in the vehicle assistance. You would think I would have been connected to either Dunwoody or Sandy Springs for assistance, nooooo, completely rerouted to Atlanta who then sent me to the other two. Incredible. We would drive and see 10 different sets of police departments. A city council for every corner. It’s too much waste. In New York, Chicago, Miami, heck even L.A., they have one department for the ENTIRE region. One Police Chief. One Fire Chief. One set of government. Like the fight is on for a more effective transit system, that would work better if there were one council instead of this gridlock between counties/municipalities. C’mon Atlanta, get with the program.
williebkind
August 18th, 2011
1:43 pm
The southern small counties are agricultural based. I do not see consolidating them would bring nothing but more state and county politicians who would want to eliminate another culture that has existed since the beginning of our great nation. Imminent domain would take more land for the use of the city dwellers while the politicians would extol that their deeds are for the good of mankind. Yeah, right! The packing of people into small areas destroys cultures and eventually civilization. From the overstacked high risers to the dark damp populated cellars come vile and disgusting habits and beliefs. No, keep your hands off my county line and stay in Atlanta with all the transplants and their self promoted NY, Ca, and Chi enlightenment. Sometimes ignorance is bliss!
Logical Dude
August 18th, 2011
2:29 pm
Kyle says ” The argument for merging small counties to achieve efficiencies in government costs has been obvious for a while, to no avail.”
well, not so obvious in the State where it actually needs to be argued. (or if it has, it has garnered now headlines in recent years).
This is one of those OBVIOUS things that would make the State reduce government size, merely by reducing the number of counties.
DUH. Thanks Kyle, good article about this.
atlmom
August 18th, 2011
3:02 pm
It’s so fascinating to me that certain states (like GA and TX) who SAY that all they want is LESS government have MUCH MORE government than most states who seem to think government is okay.
We have SO MANY counties, we can’t have any type of state plan for ANYTHING because there are so many local govts (how many areas keep becoming ‘cities’? Why? so they can add another layer of government?). I mean, look at the city, some of it in two different counties, but neither county fully within the city. It’s crazy. So we have MORE government in the end. When supposedly everyone is for ‘less’ government.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 18th, 2011
3:22 pm
Atlmom, look at the chart. Then remember to get your facts straight before embarrassing yourself.
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=32&cat=1
Legend of Len Barker
August 18th, 2011
3:38 pm
There is one county that pretty much takes an hour to traverse: top to bottom of Jefferson County. Laurens is probably a little longer as it has that nice little point at the bottom, but there isn’t a traffic light from I-16 until the caution light at Cedar Grove and a real red light doesn’t happen until you hit McRae.
As mentioned early in the comments, we had an amendment cap the number of counties at 159. We had as many as 161 (1929-31), but Milton and Campbell were both bankrupt. Peach County had been #161 and came in after a monstrous 7+-year fight.
Railroads, as much as politics, spurred county creation. Since Georgia is a pretty backwards state, the railroad didn’t take hold until the 1880s.
All these little individual counties give us great personality. Like that little smidge Crawford County has labeled on I-75. Or the tail of Dodge County that sticks out and laughs at you on 441. Or Taliaferro County, which is my great litmus test. Can you pronounce it properly? (At last check Atlanta television stations could not.)
What would you about combining those small in population counties? Clinch is a big ol county. Stewart and Randolph aren’t far behind. It would be a nightmare logistically for those residents to do anything. Especially in Fargo.
Besides, if you combine us with Cook County or Irwin with Ben Hill, you’ll have to call out the state militia.
barking frog
August 18th, 2011
4:10 pm
want to save money, just make Georgia, Metro Atlanta and let the fine City government
run the City-State and really take our country back ….
Brett Favre was once a Falcon
August 18th, 2011
4:53 pm
Legend of Len Barker, thanks for the nice history and geography lesson. I agree with your thinking. Combining some of these South Georgia counties would be equal to going to war. Rivalries have built up, and it ain’t gonna happen.
Even if it would save a ton of money.
Oh, and Taliaferro = Tolliver. I learned that in 8th Grade Georgia History. In a public school.
atlmom
August 18th, 2011
5:01 pm
lil barry bailout: I don’t understand. i never said anything about MONEY. I said something about people wanting ‘less govt.’ Doesn’t always equate. I said: there are more layers of bureaucracy here than elsewhere. When everyone’s saying: I want govt out of my life. But it’s not. There are more layers here than anywhere i’ve ever lived.
Hillbilly D
August 18th, 2011
6:17 pm
If you combine county A, B and C by folding county B and C into county A for example. Guess what happens. County A immediately needs a new, bigger courthouse, a new bigger government office complex and etc. So much for your savings.
The correct pronunciation for Taliaferro County, is “Toliver” by the way. You could write a whole book on the mangling of local place names by the Atlanta media.
Intown
August 18th, 2011
6:25 pm
If you really want Milton county, the only fair way to do the referendum is to have the entirety fo Fulton County vote on it … just like when Campbell and Milton were merged into Fulton. Everyone had to say yes to merge. Everyone should have to say yes to split. The boundaires should follow the historic boundaries since this is supposedly based on the historic Milton. This means splitting Sandy Springs between two counties. Fairly common in Georgia to have cities that span more than one county.
Hillbilly D
August 18th, 2011
6:45 pm
The original Milton County was formed from parts of Cobb, Cherokee and Forsyth (another county name that gets mispronounced by Atlanta media, of course Atlanta media mispronounces Atlanta, also) Counties. Maybe it’d be more sensible to fold it back into the original 3, rather than create Milton, again.
Did someone say ‘redistricting’ … — Peach Pundit
August 18th, 2011
8:40 pm
[...] – If didn’t do so yesterday, take some time to read through Kyle Wingfield’s excellent analysis about redistricting and Milton County. [...]
DW
August 19th, 2011
9:42 am
Merging counties makes sense to me. Alabama is a little smaller than Georgia in size, yet it has 92 less counties. If 30 counties can’t even maintain their own websites, what other services are they falling short on?
Engineer
August 19th, 2011
9:52 am
I’d love to see some county consolidations here in Georgia. Here are a few I think would be interesting and I’ll even start with my home county:
Pierce + Brantley
Appling + Bacon
Echols + Lowndes + Lanier (Echols and Lanier have a combined population less than 1/10th the population of Lowndes)
Peach + Crawford
Miller + Early
Decatur + Seminole
Baker + Mitchell
Randolph + Clay + Quitman
Terrel + Lee (I would add Dougherty, but folks in Lee would never allow that to happen)
Stewart + Webster
Schley + Marion or Sumter + Schley
Macon + Taylor
Evans + Tattnall
Toombs + Montgomery
Wheeler + Telfair
Bacon + Appling
Rabun + Towns
Dade + Walker
Dooly + Crisp
Pulaski + Wilcox
Coffee + Atkinson
Cook + Berrien
Thomas + Brooks
Ben Hill + Irwin
Tift + Turner
Alternate combos that could work but I’m not including in the main list.
Ware + Charlton + Clinch (the new Georgia House districts would support this)
Ware + Pierce + Brantley (economically, they are already joined together and Waycross is their economic hub, although splitting Brantley east of the Satilla River and giving that to Glynn might also make some sense)
Ware + Charlton
Ware + Clinch
McIntosh + Long
Wayne + Long
And without much effort other than just looking at a map of Georgia, there are 40+ counties that could be about half that many. The main problem (other than the obvious personal power battles) would be choosing a county seat and deciding which county name is kept.
amazed
August 19th, 2011
12:09 pm
No artificial flavors-sorry for the confusion
I was referring to Houston and Harris County Texas contrasting that with Georgia’s tiny counties.
amazed
August 19th, 2011
12:36 pm
@altmom-Texas counties are about 3 times the size of Georgia counties and their center cities are a lot bigger. School districts are a different issue which would probably be the biggest fight in merging counties here.
The city issues here are beyond absurd. Gwinnet County and the cities suing each other over taxes? If that’s not a dysfuntional waste of taxpayer money, I don’t know what is. We had Sandy Springs and still have large urban areas in Dekalb County that are unincorporated. Dekalb County (a county that can’t decide whether it is a city or county) is suing its own planning commission over a re-platting decision. Dekalb and its cities are suing each other over sales taxes and park land. You couldn’t make up this sort of stuff. Its just SO unbelievable.
Politicians seriously argue that Fulton is too big geographically when nearly every other state in the country has larger counties. Georgia needs to look at how other states do things Instead of the tendency to try to re-invent the wheel and coming up with a triangular shape.
Billingeorgia
August 19th, 2011
5:27 pm
I wish they would triple the house and senate seats. Then nothing would get done, which is a sight better than what is being done.
truth
August 20th, 2011
12:45 pm
As a former County Commission Chairman of one of the small South GA counties that cannot afford to exist, I can say with knowledge and certainty this idea is long past overdue. I stated this need when I was Chairman. Didn’t make me very popular! Satellite offices for tags and taxes, etc will work. Engineer’s suggestions in an earlier post are interesting and plausible.
Randolph Phillips
August 20th, 2011
5:23 pm
When I was a freshman in the Georgia House, I was given advice by a veteran Representative. “Randy, if you think of a real good question no one has asked, just be quiet and wait. Some other damn fool will ask it for you.” I thought of that advice when I read this column by Mr. Wingfield, a self-stlyed “30 something conservative”.
Every once in a while, someone starts talking about “Georgia has too many counties”. It’s like they all have this bright idea, and make the same arguments this guy does. He does have an unusual twist to his pitch. He seems to indicate that no county should be smaller than the numbers it takes to equal 1 Representative. Does that mean we should decide o the number of counties after each census? Sounds like it.
Actually there is a process in the Constitution which allows–but does not require– counties to consolidate if they want to do so for whatever reason, and a handful might be better off if they did. But since Mr. Wingfield mentions the recreation of Milton County, I suggest he might have an ulterior motive.
The Georgia Constitution limits the number of counties to 159, and we are at the limit. So until the Constitution is changed to allow for at least one more county (160) or two counties agree to merge, Milton County cannot be reconstituted. Actually, I think Georgians and our legislature would agree to that amendment. Milton County should be revived. But unless that option is taken, then two counties must agree to merge, and make room for Milton. I suggest a pac be formed to raise money and find two small counties adjoining each other in South Georgia and reward them with money for merging. You know, a few million dollars toward some new county facilities, the schools, etc. can persuade people.
As for your very pracitical, altrusitic, economy in government arguments, Mr. Wingfield, we’ve heard them all before. Over and Over again.
amazed
August 20th, 2011
9:46 pm
So are you saying politics will never allow practical, economical ideas to happen?
South GA Guy
August 22nd, 2011
11:09 am
I grew up in South Georgia then moved to Atlanta for a almost a decade with a stop off in Athens for a degree. I moved back home several years ago. I have lived in each “Georgia” and appreciate both. Real simple to have small county and city consolidation. Give them a timeline to rotate out elected officials and career employees, allow for little over staffing in the beginning to keep people off unemployment, and last “pay them”. Will not make everyone happy, but a good compromise. Metro Atlanta folk need to remember this will be handling careers of good people. No different from moving state government departments from downtown Atlanta to Conyers, Athens and Forsyth in the past decade. The “payoff” could be in the form of updating aging water and sewer systems, and installing new internet communications and solar power fields that could make the state a green energy provider.