By Rep. Ed Lindsey

Let me once again, explain two of my concerns about HR 21 to your readers. 

First, HR 21 is likely to lead to higher taxes for those of us living in Buckhead. A carved out Milton County north of Atlanta will leave us behind with the same county political leaders in charge who have created this governmental quagmire through their bloated fiscal policies and blind opposition to needed reforms. In short, Buckhead should not be stuck with the bill in this dispute. 

Second, HR 21 strips away from Buckhead and the rest of Atlanta and South Fulton County the important constitutional right to vote on this issue. Under Article IX, Section I, Paragraph II of Georgia’s existing constitution, if a county wants to divide, everyone in the county gets to vote on the division. HR 21 will remove that right by only permitting those in North Fulton to vote on dividing our county and creating Milton County. I would never expect my colleagues in North Fulton to agree to surrender their constituents' constitutional right to vote and they should not expect me to do so. 

Instead, I have proposed a different constitutional amendment, HR 1589, to address how Fulton County government operates. It provides that in a heavily municipalized county such as Fulton (over 90% of the population and 80% of the land area in Fulton County are in one city or another), the county government will be limited to only performing those duties that are mandated by the state or agreed upon between the cities and the county. This should lessen the footprint of our county government and provide relief to all of our county’s citizens. 

Let me close by saying that as recently as today I defended my friends in North Fulton against undeserved charges of racism at a public meeting at the capitol on this issue and argued that opponents of this measure must accept the legitimacy of the complaints even if they disagree with the solution offered. I hope my friends in North Fulton show me the same understanding.