Eatonton City Council’s scheduled July 15 meeting was dominated by a presentation from Ted Baggett of The Baggett Consulting Agency about de-annexation applications submitted in May and July last year by eight local landholders regarding ten parcels of land currently within city limits.
Together, all parcels represented almost 3,264 acres at a total taxable value of more than $3.04 million in 2023, which accounted for approximately $25,865 in payable city taxes last year.
Significantly, none of the de-annexation applicants attended the city council meeting. Their efforts followed Gov. Brian Kemp signing the Republican-dominated legislature’s House Bill 374 into law on May 2, 2023, making the Eatonton Eight among the first in the state to test the law formally.
They already have Putnam County’s approval; however, it appears the city may not be as forthcoming.
Baggett explained Eatonton’s population (6,307 according to the 2020 census) represented approximately 29% of the 22,047 total county population; the city’s current 20.61 square miles is less than 6% of the county’s land area, and at just over $158 million in taxable property, the city represented just 7% of the county’s more than $1.98 billion tax digest at the time.
Council also heard Baggett explain Bill 374 provides that “authority is granted to the governing authority of any municipality to de-annex an area or areas of the existing corporate limits” and says the municipality “… shall approve such de-annexation unless it finds that the de-annexation would be detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and property owners of the area to be de-annexed or to the area remaining within the municipality.”
Seeing council members listen to Baggett’s presentation, it appeared clear they felt “detrimental” was an understatement regarding the collective de-annexation request.
Baggett also focused at length on potential service delivery impacts related to de-annexation, suggesting it could create new, confusing city/county lines not only for routine city services like trash collection or road repairs and for police, fire, and ambulance services.
“A patchwork quilt of unincorporated islands would impose a duty of figuring out on every police call whether the source of the emergency is in the city or falls under the county’s jurisdiction,” Baggett’s report stated. “Undeveloped land still requires police and fire protection as grass and forest fires require quick attention, particularly given the threat they pose to nearby developed property. City fire and police departments should not have to worry about irregular city limits when time is of the essence.”
The city council agreed, and other potential problems were suggested, such as what duty de-annexed landholders would have to future purchasers of their properties, notably if the land physically appeared to be within city limits.
Also, the question was raised about how to proceed if a significant de-annexed acreage was sold and converted into housing tracts within city limits.
What zoning requirements and service agreements would apply in such an instance?
“In layman’s terms, with a chopped-up situation like this, it would be what’s commonly referred to as a cluster,’” Councilmember-at-large and Mayor Pro-Tem Chip Walker suggested. So, while we can look at all the big terms and look at all the legal stuff, and certainly we have to do that, there’s no question that nobody can look at this map and say that they can truthfully run a city like they ought to.”