Another piece of municipal history was made in south Fulton this week with the passage of House Bill 725, legislation that substantiated the 2006 annexations of more than 14,000 acres of unincorporated south Fulton County by existing cities. Having effectively replaced last year’s Senate Bill 552 that paved the way for a vote to form the new city of South Fulton in June, HB 725 approved all annexations and provided a six-month extension of the time limits originally established for the annexations.

Originating as HB 306 earlier in the 2007 session and authored by Rep. Virgil Fludd (66th Dist.), Rep. Roger Bruce (64th Dist.) and Rep. Sharon Beasley-Teague (65th Dist.), the bill confirmed the Oct. 30 date for all annexations by existing cities to be completed. HB 306 was transformed later in the session and became HB 725. Sponsored by Fludd, Bruce and other legislators, the bill included a new deadline date for annexations by existing cities. That date was April 2.

Legislators reported publicly that the HB 306 and 725 cleared up the language in SB 552, sponsored by Sen. Kasim Reed (35th Dist.). That language clouded the issues surrounding the annexations and might have impeded the vote this summer, they said. Today, most Fulton representatives say HB 725 provides the way for residents of unincorporated south Fulton to go to the polls June 19 and vote the new city in or out.

But others involved in the attempt to form the new city of South Fulton have a different take on HB 725 and its ramifications. Two of those are members of the South Fulton Concerned Citizens (SFCC).

Long time south Fulton resident George Nicholson was present at an early April meeting with several SFCC members and Sen. Kasim Reed, Rep. Virgil Fludd, Rep. Roger Bruce, Fulton County commissioners Bill Edwards and Rob Pitts and other legislators. Nicholson’s description of a portion of the meeting was nothing less than the type of politics that many people expect.

“The new map of the city of South Fulton is basically a granting of land to the cities through what is in effect annexation by legislation,” Nicholson said. “The new annexation completion date of April 2, 2007 was openly stated by (Sen.) Reed as being what (Atlanta Mayor) Shirley Franklin wanted or she would file a suit to stop the citizens from voting. The legislature has legalized all of the annexations, even those forming illegal islands and even those that were done six months after the original ending date for annexation. The legislators have given the mayors of the existing cities what they desired at the cost of the voting public. I certainly hope that Governor Perdue will veto this bill and allow the voters the right he gave to them last year when he signed SB 552.”

Sen. Reed was unable to be to reached for a response.

Another SFCC member, Sandra Hardy was the person who in 2005 formed the SFCC organization in her living room. The group’s mission, then as now, was to give unincorporated south Fulton residents the opportunity to vote the new city up or down, she said. Also in attendance at the April meeting with elected officials, Hardy questioned the actions of legislators representing south Fulton County and the reasons by which HB 725 came to provide the existing cities with so much prime real estate.

“I can’t express my disappointment enough in our politicians that supported this bill,” Hardy said. “My question is why would Virgil Fludd author this bill knowing full well that he represents only a small part of south Fulton? Who in his district went to him and asked that the annexations by the cities be upheld and included in his bill? Several citizens met with Virgil Fludd and asked him to please not drop the bill until we could review it. He agreed, and 10 minutes after we left his office he presented the bill. He betrayed us in south Fulton!”

To date, the map to be derived from HB 725 that designates the new proposed city limits of the city of South Fulton has not been forthcoming. The map is needed to clarify which residents can participate in the June vote.

The vote to form the city of South Fulton and the city of Chattahoochee Hills is expected to be held June 19. Though large portions of both areas have been annexed by existing cities, Prof. Robert Eger of Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies is firm in his assertion that both cities are financially viable.

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