Impact of Cobb County's four pushes for cityhood top topic for county leaders

There could potentially be four new cities in Cobb County. It looks like some voters will have to decide on cityhood as soon as May.

With things moving so quickly, Cobb County leaders held a special meeting Tuesday night to make sure they knew what the impact the new cities would have on the county, so they could pass the information on to residents.

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"If anything I think it has been expedited in a way that is causing a lot of confusion," said Cobb County Commission Chair Lisa Cupid.

How could creating four cities in Cobb County impact services and finances?

If East Cobb, Vinings, Lost Mountain and Mableton all became their own cities, it would affect all residents, whether they're in a new city or not.  

County leaders looked at the impact cityhood would have on the county's finances and operations.

"If all four cities are formed the general fund would lose $28.5 million dollars of revenue, fire fund would lose $14.1 million, 911 would lose $1.2 million and the hotel/motel fund would lose $1.8 million, for an overall loss of revenue of $45.7 million," said Bill Volckmann, Cobb County CFO

They also looked at the impact on everything from libraries to community development to parks.

"If all four cityhoods were formed 29 parks and 1451.71 acres would be affected," said Parks and Rec Dir Michael Brantley.

There was a lot of information on public safety, including police, fire and 911. Only the proposed city of East Cobb is planning their own public safety department. What would it look like and how would it compare to what the county has.

"The specialty teams and the special equipment and technology we have is just beyond what most police departments, especially smaller ones, can offer," said Acting Chief Stuart VanHoozer.

There were some questions county leaders said they simply couldn't answer because the plans from the proposed cities were too vague.

"I'm hoping that we can have more dialog not only with the citizens but also with the proponent so that at least we can clarify the basic information about the cities as they're being proposed," said Cupid.

County officials said they don't want to sway residents, but they do want them to be informed and that's why they put as much information with maps and feasibility studies on their website.

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