North Fulton Still on the Hook for South Fulton Police Force
Residents are speaking up loudly about the Fulton County Board of Commissioners decision to establish a separate police department for one street, Fulton Industrial Boulevard.
During the creation of the City of South Fulton, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners originally stated it wanted to be out of municipal services. To assist with the transition from unincorporated south Fulton, the County originally entered into an inter-governmental agreement with the new City of South Fulton to provide police and fire services to the small remaining unincorporated area. The multimillion dollar agreement would have kept the structure of the Fulton County police and fire departments and created consistency for the residents and businesses in the area.
The Fulton County Commission has now instead created a small police department using Fulton County General Funds. The tiny strip of Fulton Industrial Boulevard did not incorporate with the City of South Fulton due to a constitutional amendment keeping the area from going into any city. Until the Georgia General Assembly passes legislation to lift the constitutional block, this area will remain unincorporated and in the control of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
What stands out is that the BOC did not make this decision for anyone’s benefit. The move uses tax payer dollars to unnecessarily duplicate efforts. The transitioning City of South Fulton police department and the newly reformed Fulton County Police department will both require separate administrative positions, assets, startup cost, as well as routine officers and investigators to police the small remaining unincorporated section of the county.
The residents of south Fulton are upset that Fulton County is attempting to poach the best police officers by offering a $3,000.00 signing bonus to officers who stay with the small department. Residents of the City of South Fulton hoped that all the police officers would transition. Any reduction of police staff creates holes the transitioning city must now fill. It is not just police officers, the issue also includes department assets such as vehicles, radios, and laptops. The assets purchased with south Fulton Special Service District tax dollars are now going back to the County leaving another budget surprise for the new city. Residents of the City of South Fulton are speaking up and organizing. See their press release here.
The residents of north Fulton are left wondering, why they are paying for a police department for a portion of the county they will never frequent. North Fulton residents have pushed to get the County out of city services like police, fire, and parks for this exact reason. If north Fulton will be saddled with the cost of the department, their input should have been requested. There is zero benefit to the north side of the County.
For both north and south, the move by the Fulton Board of Commissioners is an odd and unanticipated move that serves no purpose and does not come to the benefit of any citizen. The original inter-governmental agreement would have allowed City of South Fulton to continue to provide police and fire services to the area to create a seamless transition. The change from consistency to turmoil doesn’t make sense as it spends more money and makes everyone unhappy.
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Disclaimer: This opinion is based only on the post, ad no other knowledge of the situation. But, if by the Constitution, the area cannot be incorporated, then neither should an incorporated entity be allowed to exercise any jurisdiction, even through an inter-governmental agreement. The solution is in the G.A.
As a side note, I couldn’t link to the press release, but no one in the new incorporated area should be surprised about new administrative costs. Unfortunately, campaigns for new incorporations don’t usually advertise or tout the inevitable increase in taxes that must occur.
What the hell? Why would they do that?
It is regrettable that this article has repeated several oft-heard misinformation and misconceptions regarding the services the County plans to provide to the Fulton Industrial District.
Fulton County and the City of South Fulton signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) last summer for services provided by the County within the new City limits of South Fulton. However, that IGA did not include any provision for the City of South Fulton to provide police and fire services. The agreement is directly quoted below:
ARTICLE 29 FULTON INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT:
The Parties acknowledge that, at the time of the execution of this Agreement, the area known as the Fulton Industrial District (“FID”) remains in unincorporated Fulton County. The Parties further acknowledge that the FID may become part of the City in the future, or it may remain in unincorporated Fulton County. The County will continue to provide services to the FID.
With regard to funding for services in the Fulton Industrial District, the public should know that there is NO General Fund money being used to provide police, fire, 911, Animal Control, Planning, Transportation and Code Enforcement. All of these services are paid from taxes collected directly from businesses and property owners in the FID.
The Board of Commissioners did consider how to provide services in the FID in January during an open meeting. For police services, the County considered three options: contracting with the City of South Fulton, having the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office provide coverage, or retaining existing police staff under the Fulton County Police Department. Ultimately, the Board decided to retain existing police staff. There will NOT be a newly formed Police Department, but rather a smaller version of the department and staff we have today. Staffing for this area requires a certain number of sworn officers. Nearly a quarter of all police activity for the former unincorporated Fulton County occurred within the FID. The new City of South Fulton will stand up a new Police Department but will not have to concern itself with the FID, allowing City leaders to concentrate on the newly formed City.
Fulton County did offer a signing bonus to the officers who decided to stay with the County, to help offset the risk these officers are taking by staying with the County. The County fully recognizes that FID may become municipalized in the future, which would require passage of legislation and a vote of the entire County. FID may become part of the South Fulton, part of City of Atlanta, a combination of the two or it could remain unincorporated Fulton forever. It should be pointed out that some officers wanted to stay with County for retirement benefits or for other reasons.
The level of staffing needed for FID is independent of that necessary for the new City of South Fulton. We are committed to a smooth transition for our remaining team.
The bottom line is that taxpayers in North Fulton are NOT footing the bill for services in FID. The FID may stay unincorporated forever and the County has ultimate responsibility for law enforcement in the area and the Board of Commissioners felt we should keep fulfilling that responsibility. The County clearly has a budget to handle the FID Area. Lastly, the County BOC has policing needs that are beyond FID area. These include, but are not limited to: (Countywide Public Safety Training Center and Range, Security Needs across Fulton County, Regional UASI equipment, Special Event Assistance (Super Bowl, NCAA Championship), Special Operations (SWAT/Air), Property and Evidence responsibilities, Juvenile Ankle Monitoring Program, criminal warrant service, and Cold case investigation, and other issues.)
Thank you for the opportunity to correct this misinformation.