SOUTH FULTON 101
Understanding Our New City
SOUTH FULTON 101
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Patchwork of Private Companies Provide Citywide Trash Service... For Now
By February 1, every house in the City of South Fulton must have its own Garbage Collection service by a city-approved Sanitation company. Renters must negotiate with their landlords on who will pay for the service.
How Did We Get Here?Those who paying close attention to South Fulton's transition to cityhood remember earlier plans to have one, citywide service that included recycling & bulk trash collection, all included in homeowner's property tax bills. So what happened?
In order to be officially recognized as a city by the State of Georgia, certain services must be provided by City government. There are additional requirements if a city wants to receive a portion of the 8% Sales Tax you pay every time you purchase something in Fulton County. Georgia State Code (O.C.G.A. 48-8-80) states that in order to receive this money, cities must provide 3 of the following 6 services: Water
Sewage Garbage Collection Police Fire Library 
South Fulton City Council,
seated (l to r): Catherine Rowell (District 1) ● Carmalitha Gumbs (District 2) ● Helen Z. Willis (District 3) ● Naeema Gilyard (District 4) ● Rosie Jackson (District 5)
standing (l to r): Councilman khalid (District 6) ● Mayor Bill Edwards ● Mayor Pro tem Mark Baker (District 7)
Atlanta owns the sewer system and water reservoirs, and Fulton County runs the library system, leaving Police, Fire & Garbage Collection. These three services are also services that those who fought for cityhood vowed to improve. By having these three services, the City of South Fulton secured access to the Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) described above, which totaled over $25 million last year. These millions in additional, annual tax dollars allows South Fulton to spend on more police, community programming and economic development.
At the outset of cityhood, South Fulton's Council decided against creating a city-owned Sanitation Department like Atlanta's; and opted instead to contract with a private company to provide citywide trash service. The next thing to decide was whom to give that very lucrative contract to. Who Can Do the Job?
City of South Fulton, GA
The first thing to keep in mind whenever discussing the City of South Fulton is our map. Unlike other new or neighboring cities, the City of South Fulton is nearly the same size as Atlanta, covering nearly 100 square miles. Anyone offering to do business or provide services in South Fulton must have a plan to cover our entire city; including its countless odd edges, where some streets are South Fulton on only one side of the street, or for only a few blocks.
This is very different from the City of Sandy Springs, whose population of 100,000 people is compacted into a neatly defined area one-third the size of our city. It is usually easier and more cost-effective to deliver services to more densely populated areas — which is why most Americans live in cities in the first place. At the beginning of the Sanitation process, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was written to solicit bids from companies to do the job. Each proposal would be scored from 0-100, based on criteria provided by City Council & staff. By the end of the RFP period, only three companies — Advanced Disposal, Republic Services and Waste Industries — submitted citywide proposals. These "Big 3" were the only companies large enough to handle providing service to residents across the entire city. Don't Forget the Little GuySmall Haulers Lobby for Cut of Citywide Sanitation Contract
While everyone agreed that the price per customer should be the chief criteria used to judge each bid, some members of Council argued for other concerns to be included. Councilman khalid failed to persuade City Council to give additional points to companies whose workers had higher wages & safer working conditions. However, a majority of Council did agree to give additional points to "local" companies.
From the first announcement that South Fulton was looking to "contract out" garbage collection, Councilmembers were approached by small sanitation companies already doing business in the area who worried they would be put out of business if the City chose one, citywide trash company. These "small haulers" lobbied Councilmembers in and out of Council meetings, warning that they would go bankrupt if forced out of South Fulton by big corporations. Then they lobbied citizens. As the deadline for Council's decision to pick a Sanitation Provider loomed, South Fulton residents began hearing from their beloved garbage man that he might soon be out of a job. Many residents loved their local provider and praised them for having lower prices & better customer service. Concerned constituents began to flood City Council phone lines and email inboxes, demanding the right to keep the current garbage collector. Many on Council caved to this pressure from constituents and revised the Request for Proposal (RFP) to give "local preference" in the awarding of the contract(s). However, it also meant that larger companies with local operations would receive a similar consideration — an unforeseen consequence some would later regret. Future Murky for Merk Miles Dump
Merk/Miles Road Transfer Station
For years, Fulton County Residents have been able to drop off trash for as little as $3.50 for 3 bags. However, this service and the cost of operating the facility was heavily subsidized by the Fulton County Commission, who decided last year to end operations at the facility on December 31, 2018. After objections from several residents at December meeting, the Fulton Board of Commissioners decided to extend operations of the Merk/Miles facility until March 31, 2019.
Merk/Miles was formally a landfill, but not operates as a Transfer Station. Trash dropped here is later transported to landfills & recycling centers outside the City of South Fulton. City officials are currently investing the cost to keep the facility open. Councilman khalid has suggested that Merk/Miles might be a cheaper alternative for homeowners who cannot afford the quarterly bill for private trash collection, but that the low cost of $3.50 for trash drop off would likely increase to make up for the lost funding from the County. Things Fall ApartCity Council rejects recommendation of Advanced Disposal
(continued below)
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FREQUENTLY CALLED NUMBERS
24/7 PUBLIC WORKS HOTLINE
(470) 552-4311
Garbage Collection, Illegal Dumping, Street Paving & Potholes
24/7 PUBLIC WORKS HOTLINE
(470) 552-4311
Garbage Collection, Illegal Dumping, Street Paving & Potholes
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Business Licenses & Taxes
Lashayne Taylor, Tax Specialist Lashayne.Taylor@CityofSouthFultonGA.gov (470) 809-7725 Code Enforcement Report Code Violations ClickIt@CityofSouthFultonGA.gov (470) 809-TELL (8355) Old National Code Endorcement Anthony Mullins, Director Anthony.Mullins@CityofSouthFultonGA.gov Sign Permits Dana Gray, City Planner Dana.Gray@CityofSouthFultonGA.gov (470) 870.7201 Zoning & Regulatory Affairs Shayla Reed, Director Shayla.Reed@CityofSouthFultonGA.gov (470) 809-7200 |
SOUTH FULTON CITY HALL
Open Monday-Friday, 8.30AM-5PM
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2019 CITY HOLIDAYSCity of South Fulton & Federal Governments Fiscal Year begins October 1
Georgia & Atlatna's Fiscal Year begins July 1
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Work is underway to reconfigure the Fulton County offices at 5440 Fulton Industrial Boulevard into South Fulton, Georgia's first City Hall.
Fulton County Police, Fire, Planning & Zoning and code enforcement — all of which will be transitioning to city control this year — are already housed in this building. Fulton County has agreed to transfer the building's lease to South Fulton; and to keep us in the building, its owner has agreed to lease & build out an additional 10,000 square feet of space at hugely discounted rates. All this means huge savings of money and time for the City, which allows us to focus on building other city infrastructure and improving our services. Most new cities wait 7-10 years before building a city hall "from scratch," so they can build their financial reserves. This was the case with John's Creek and Sandy Springs.
Fulton County Police, Fire, Planning & Zoning and code enforcement — all of which will be transitioning to city control this year — are already housed in this building. Fulton County has agreed to transfer the building's lease to South Fulton; and to keep us in the building, its owner has agreed to lease & build out an additional 10,000 square feet of space at hugely discounted rates. All this means huge savings of money and time for the City, which allows us to focus on building other city infrastructure and improving our services. Most new cities wait 7-10 years before building a city hall "from scratch," so they can build their financial reserves. This was the case with John's Creek and Sandy Springs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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History of Citywide Trash Service (cont'd)In August, the South Fulton's Procurement Manager, Anthony Kerr, scored the proposals an announced the winner of the contract: Advanced Disposal. Ironically, the very thing that gave Advanced an advantage in its proposal — its local operation of a waste transfer station — may be a key factor in the company's failure to close the deal.
Per City Council's revised RFP, Advanced received extra points in its bid to be the citywide sanitation provider because it already operated a Waste Transfer Station on Welcome All Road, within the city limits. However, residents complaints about pollution coming from the facility gave some council members pause. Others on Council were concerned about how commitments to work with smaller companies were scored in the procurement process. City Council rejects recommendation of Advanced Disposal
The Council voted to reject the Procurement Manager's recommendation and called for a Special Public Meeting with all interested providers to question them directly and vote for a recommended provider. However, just as the meeting was about to begin, Mayor Bill Edwards made a speech warning against the meeting. The meeting was canceled.
With the Procurement Manager's recommendation rejected, the RFP process abandoned, a Public Hearing with possible providers canceled, and a transition deadline of November 2018 too close to put out a new RFP and start the bidding process anew, it fell to new City Manager Odie Donald to come up with a buzzer-beating play. The Sandy Springs, free-market model was the play. Residents would select from a list of city-approved providers who were supposed to compete with one another, resulting in lower prices for the consumer. We Are Not Sandy SpringsCouncilman khalid questions "Sandy Springs" model of privatized garbage collection & warns how implementation of such a program will be problematic.
From the very beginning, Councilman khalid was an outspoken advocate for a single, citywide garbage collector. As the selection process broke down, he urged colleagues not to abandon the principle that a single, citywide provider was the best option. In a speech before the vote to adopt this "Sandy Springs model", khalid warned it could fail in ways city leaders had not yet imagined. His predictions did not take long to come true.
The first bad news came from the Big 3 companies. Under the city's original (RFP) — which was discarded with the Procurement Manager's recommendation of Advanced Disposal — the city would have paid millions up front for residential garbage service, then worked to recoup that money from property owners via a city tax bill (the way citywide garbage service is paid for in Atlanta). However, under the Free Market model, each company bills each customer individually. When the Free Market Sanitation Model was announced, two of the Big 3 — Advanced and Republic – opted out of providing residential service, claiming they could not scale up their infrastructure of trucks & employees to service the entire city without the upfront payments outlined in the RFP The next blow came from the small haulers. Upon implementation it became clear that the goal of their lobbying was never to compete with the Big 3, only to keep the turf they had. Unlike Sandy Springs, who has multiple vendors competing in a much smaller, more densely populated area, South Fulton's 100 square mile service delivery area had long ago been carved up by sanitation companies. Decades before we became a city, companies like Waste Industries bought the rights to "routes" (the right to drive trucks in particular areas) from smaller companies like Latham. The small haulers had no intentions of challenging big corporations for these routes. Only one company, Fulton Sanitation, expressed intent to expand its operations and compete for new business. For the others, it was simply not financially feasible to drive dozens of miles to collect trash at a few scattered addresses if they could not be guaranteed the right to service the entire area. Many small companies understood these financial realities from the beginning, even though City Council did not. The final blow to the citywide model came in companies decision to pass along the city's new "infrastructure fee." Many cities charge garbage collectors this fee for the wear & tear on city streets by heavy garbage trucks. With no contract language or negotiation to stop them, most of the private garbage companies passed this 5 percent fee on to South Fulton residents. As a result, most South Fulton citizens have the same garbage companies to choose from today that they had before cityhood — but at higher prices. 2020This current arrangement of Citywide Garbage Collection is set to expire in 2019. City Council is collecting feedback on how to move forward in 2020.
Discussions of future service will also include how the city might use some portion of the $25 million in L.O.S.T. funds it receives for having citywide collection might be used to subsidize the price of garbage services for the elderly or less fortunate. Councilman khalid & others are still pushing for a single citywide provider. In light of recent events, his ideas appear to be gaining support. Please take the survey below to share your thoughts on how the city should move forward in providing citywide garbage collection. SANITATION (TRASH COLLECTION) SURVEY
The new City of South Fulton, Georgia is moving to citywide trash (sanitation) service. Please share your thoughts on exactly how we should do it.
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FACT CHECK:
Why Not Call a Citywide Vote for New City Name?
What About a Non-Binding Vote?
The suggestion has been made by several others that the city hold a non-legally binding Election where voters could give direct feedback. A proposal gaining popularity in recent weeks is to open polls at City Hall (5440 Fulton Industrial) and the South Service Center (5600 Stonewall Tell) for citizens to hold a citywide vote on the name. Voters would select between 5 names, with a citywide vote occurring around the MLK Holiday in mid-January. |
Many have asked: Why not just put the name two a citywide vote?
There are three reasons a Vote for a New City Name would be very difficult at this time: 1) Legal Limitations 2) Logistical Considerations 3) Timeline of Cityhood Transition LEGAL LIMITATIONS In order to place a referendum (question for voters) on an official ballot, Georgia State Law O.C.G.A. §36-35-3 requires citizens to collect around 17,000 signatures (15 percent of the city’s 119,073 Registered Voters) for each proposed name to be added to the ballot. Additionally, even if either of these solutions was pursued, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-540(c)(2) limits such ballot questions to the following dates in 2018: May 22 and November 6. Neither of these would give us enough time to transition departments. Remember: we are legally & financially obligated to set up Fire, Police & Sanitation services before November 2018. 
$5000 was spent to place City Seals on 18 Code Enforcement trucks. Hundreds of Police, Fire, Parks and Public Works vehicles will need similar decals before they can be used by the City.
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However, a Non-Legally Binding Election means that even if thousands of people came out to vote for the City Name, our City Council would still be required to hold its own vote. No Councilmember would be obliged to cast a vote for the top choice of citizens.
This is exactly what happened during City Council's November 13 vote for the City Name. Though the name South Fulton lead in many online surveys, its popularity was NOT reflected in the votes of Councilmembers.
This is exactly what happened during City Council's November 13 vote for the City Name. Though the name South Fulton lead in many online surveys, its popularity was NOT reflected in the votes of Councilmembers.
Sample Notice of Election postcard.
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LOGISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
If the City were to conduct a non-biniding Election, here are some logistical issues to consider: How Would Residents Be Notified? One of the biggest complaints of our residents is the lack of communication from the city about the name change. Though much information about the city is available online, and in electronic newsletters like this one, residents have pressed for paper notification of such events. Indeed, in a legally binding Special Election, a Notice of Election would be sent to every eligible registered voter, with the date(s) of the Election and the location(s) where s/he could go vote. To print & mail such a notice to all eligible voters would cost the city around $50,000. |
What City Names Would Go On the Ballot?
Nearly 300 different names were submitted by residents who were aware of our renaming. Countless other names were brought by others as they found out about the renaming.
Many residents were displeased with the process Marketing Firms Vivo 360 & firstClass Inc. used to narrow the list to the 20 most popular names. How many names would be placed on the ballot for a citywide election — 5, 50 or 500 — and what process would be used to select them?
If no name received over 50 percent of the popular vote, would a runoff be held?
These are some of the crucial questions that must be answered, in addition to figuring out who would supervise the voting and counting of the ballots, before any such election could be held.
Nearly 300 different names were submitted by residents who were aware of our renaming. Countless other names were brought by others as they found out about the renaming.
Many residents were displeased with the process Marketing Firms Vivo 360 & firstClass Inc. used to narrow the list to the 20 most popular names. How many names would be placed on the ballot for a citywide election — 5, 50 or 500 — and what process would be used to select them?
If no name received over 50 percent of the popular vote, would a runoff be held?
These are some of the crucial questions that must be answered, in addition to figuring out who would supervise the voting and counting of the ballots, before any such election could be held.
South Fulton 101 TV:
What Does a City Manager Do?
A Schoolhouse Rock® for adults, South Fulton 101 TV is a series of short videos created by Councilman khalid to educate South Fulton citizens on how their new city government works. Watch the latest South Fulton 101 video here!
FACT CHECK:
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T-SPLOST
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Developers have once again set their sights on the land around our airport — the world's busiest. Aerotropolis Atlanta is a mixed-use development, including a 4-star InterContinental hotel, class-A office space, and travel plaza adjacent to the airport’s main domestic terminal and MARTA station, which along with the Porsche headquarters, is part of a larger vision by Invest Atlanta, Delta Airlines, Georgia Power, SunTrust Bank & others to transform the vicinity around the Airport on Atlanta's Southside.
The initiative is broken into two segments — an organization of land owners in airport areas Business Districts, or CIDs in Fulton & Clayton counties, and a larger coalition working on a more comprehensive Economic Development plan. |
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Appealing Your 2018 Property Tax Assessment
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As the City of South Fulton improves public services and property values increase, some residents may notice an increase in their property taxes. These increased property taxes are how our city pays for new police officers and improved parks, streets and emergency services. When included in your house note and spread over the year, most increases amount to only a few dollars each month. However, residents who notice a sharp increase in their property tax assessments can file an appeal with the Fulton County Tax Assessor's Office.
How & When to Appeal Your Fulton County Property Tax Assessment
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To File An Appeal Online:
Visit the Fulton County Tax Assessor's website at www.FultonAssessor.org, or simply click the link below to access the Online Services > SmartFile tool (see steps below). To File An Appeal By Mail:
Print the one-page Appeal Application at the button below and mail to: Fulton County Tax Assessor
235 Peachtree Street NE North Tower • 12th Floor Atlanta, GA • 30303 To File An Appeal In Person:
Visit the Fulton County Tax Assessors office. Fulton County Tax Assessors Office
South Fulton Annex 5600 Stonewall Rd, 30349 • Room 224 Monday-Friday • 8AM-4.30PM |