Another one of the frequently repeated arguments against the creation of a city is that Georgia has a flawed process for the formation of cities. Cities would be OK, if only they could be formed in a way that matches the way they do it somewhere else, or in a hypothetically perfect process. If you could only change the process, then we could support it.
I’ve got to say that I agree with the spirit of most of those comments. I don’t like the process either. But I wasn’t asked to write the rules. I’m just stuck with them.
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I also sympathize with the view that it’s possible for a small percentage of the people who vote to create a city that a lot of people had no clue about. After all President Obama was elected President by about 20% of the population (probably less than that if you include the “unofficial” residents). The State Representative for District 21 won with 900 votes (2% of the population). This happens all the time in this country. Someone stands up and offers an idea. Some people like it; some don’t; some don’t care that much. How many people know who their Public Service Commission representative is? How many know that there is a Public Service Commission?
We could appoint a five-year commission to study the question; then a five-year committee to determine the best method of forming cities; then maybe another five-year commission to propose legislation for the perfect process. Of course, after those 15 years it probably wouldn’t pass the legislature. In the meantime, here we are.
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Perhaps we should do it like California (of course, that makes sense!) or like Virginia; or maybe like France or Canada. Then the process would be acceptable.
We could set up a process in which an overwhelming percentage of the politically active people in the area must approve the city before it can be created. But we can’t even get that many people to go to PTA meetings. We can’t even stop people from voting for felons. And we think we can get everyone deeply involved in a serious way? And there are a lot of people out there who think they’re already in a city. And lots more who don’t understand the concept.
We could require a process in which only the people who wanted to be in a city would be in it; and everyone else would be out. But we really can’t do that.
The real problem is that if you don’t like a city proposal, there are always reasons why there is a better method somewhere else. But this happens to be the way it’s done in Georgia. And that’s not going to change in the foreseeable future.
Cities are formed in this country possibly in 50 different ways. There are no perfect methods; there are no perfect outcomes. There is only the way you have.
It would be nice if there was an expressway from Atlanta to Memphis. But there isn’t, and if you want to drive there you have to follow the roads that exist. Unless of course you don’t really want to drive there.