By J. Randolph Evans
Governor Nathan Deal has started downsizing the size of government in Georgia, kicking off the process in his proposed state budget with the de-authorization of thousands of government jobs that are currently unfilled.
Next, Governor Deal plans a steady re-organization of state government with an eye toward eliminating redundancy, streamlining services, and applying technology to move Georgia into the 21st Century. These are the necessary fundamentals for even bigger changes to come. As he looks forward, here is a big suggestion for the next phase of government downsizing: reduce the number of Georgia counties and municipalities.
Georgia has 159 counties (the maximum under Georgia’s constitution). In fact, Georgia has the second highest number of counties in the nation, behind only Texas. (Interestingly, Texas (the second largest state) is geographically 4+ times bigger than Georgia (24th largest).
This is not a southern thing. In contrast to Georgia’s 159 counties, Alabama has 67 counties, and South Carolina has only 46. It is not a population thing. California and New York each have only 57 counties.
It is not a geographic size thing. Alaska (the largest state) has 13 counties and Montana (4th largest following Texas and California) has 56 counties.
No, this is a Georgia thing, and it is expensive.
159 counties translates into lots and lots of government employees with 159 county commissions or commissioners, 159 sheriffs, 159 clerks, 159 tax commissioners, 159 probate judges, and so on, and so on. This means every county has a courthouse, school system, and county government. Unfortunately, every county and municipality collects taxes to support its own systems and employees.
Contrary to popular belief, counties have come and gone. Eleven counties were dissolved in 1777. This was not just an 18th-century thing.
Campbell County and Milton County were merged into Fulton County in 1932. More recently, four counties merged with cities to form consolidated governments: Athens-Clarke County; Augusta-Richmond County; Columbus-Muscogee County; and Cusseta-Chattahoochee County.
Notably, there is no rhyme or reason for all of these counties that still exist today.
There are counties with fewer than 2,500 people (Taliferro – 2,077 and Webster – 2,390) and counties with more than 750,000 (Fulton – 816,006 and Gwinnett 757,104).
There are small counties (Clayton – 143 square miles and Glascock – 144 square miles) and big counties (Ware – 903 square miles and Burke County – 831 square miles).
Rumor has it that Georgia county lines were originally drawn to make itpossible for a farmer to travel by mule-drawn buggy to the county seat and be back home again in one day. That was before trains, planes, andautomobiles. (Of course it does not explain the approximately 25 counties that were created since the beginning of the 20th Century and after the advent of trains, planes, and automobiles.)
The one thing that all of these counties have in common is that they cost money – lots of taxpayer money. And, within each county, there are lots of cities, towns, and villages. At last count, there are 535, which when combined with 159 counties, creates a total of 694 governments taxing Georgians not counting the State of Georgia and the federal government.
In the era of ‘We the People’ vocally expressing the mantra of “taxed enough already” (“TEA” as in Tea Party), and with record unemployment reducing the number of people paying taxes, the time for consolidation may be ripe. In California, which is in a financial crisis verging on bankruptcy, the movement to consolidate local governments has begun in earnest. In the business world, entities that no longer serve their purpose are either consolidated or eliminated.
It is now time to consider appropriate tax-saving consolidations before a crisis leaves only taxpayer bailouts or bankruptcy as the options. Already, there is a procedure available for the consolidation of counties and cities. The next step is to facilitate and incentivize the consolidation of counties along with many of the cities within them. Voters have to be able to make these choices. After all, no one can expect politicians to eliminate their own jobs.
Georgia started with only eight (8) counties. Today, there are only five states with eight counties or fewer – Connecticut (0), Delaware (3), Hawaii (3), Massachusetts (6), and Rhode Island (0). Of course, cutting back to those levels would be too aggressive.
But, here is a better comparison. Consider the states that are of the approximate land size of Georgia (24th): Florida (22nd) – 66 counties; and Wisconsin (23rd) – 72 counties.
Moving toward these kinds of numbers could cut the number of county governments in Georgia by half. By replacing mule-drawn buggies with internet access and computer technology, Georgians can get the access they need at a price they like. More for less – now there is a concept for the future.