East Cobb Cityhood Bill Clears First Legislative Hurdle, Passes State House Committee

EAST COBB, GA — A bill proposing the creation of a city of East Cobb cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday, despite divided opinions from East Cobb residents and Cobb County leaders.

House Bill 841 — sponsored by state Rep. Matt Dollar, a Republican who represents East Cobb — passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee with bipartisan support on Thursday, the Atlanta Constitution reported.

One study by the Center for State and Local Finance said the city was financially feasible, but there has not been a study of what it would mean for Cobb County to lose the wealthy area from its tax base. Some Cobb County officials said they needed more time to study what a new city would mean for county services.

Supporters of the cityhood movement say it would give them more local control and representation in government, mostly over zoning and development. The city of East Cobb would also provide police, fire and code enforcement services.

"What scares me to death is the direction these commissioners are taking the county," said Pamela Reardon, a Realtor and East Cobb resident, during the subcommittee hearing, according to East Cobb News. "They make no bones that their goal is to urbanize our suburbs."

"I'm just not getting the engagement or the representation that I'm looking for," said Cindy Cooperman, an organizer for a campaign supporting East Cobb cityhood, according to the AJC.

However, opponents question the financial decision of operating a smaller city government that's already served by Cobb County.

"Incorporating a city is another layer of government," said Mindy Seger, an organized of the East Cobb Alliance, a cityhood opposition group.

"What's in it for me other than more taxes?" asked Robert Hanson, a retiree living in East Cobb. "Who's really behind this?"

The proposed city of East Cobb would have a similar geographic size as the city Marietta at roughly 25 square miles, and most of its 50,406 residents (17.2 percent) would be age 65 and older, while Marietta's population age 65 and older is 12.9 percent, according to the financial feasibility study.

According to the AJC, Cobb County officials questioned the quality of the services the new city would receive and how much the county would be asked to help out.

Cobb Public Safety Director Randy Crider said East Cobb has two fire stations within its proposed city limits, which could leave it unable to respond to major fires across its proposed 25 square miles. For comparison, Marietta and Smyrna have six and five fire stations, respectively, and span 23.51 square miles and 15.59 square miles, respectively.

If HB 841 passes the full state House and Senate, and is then signed into law, it could go before voters in November.

Related:

• East Cobb Cityhood Deemed 'Financially Feasible': GSU Study
  
• East Cobb Cityhood Public Safety Proposals Explained: Report