How WE Got Here
Community Driven and Supported
The Beginning
In 2017 a group of citizens gathered to look at future options for the Mableton area. Those included annexation, doing nothing, and becoming a city. Those individuals created the South Cobb Alliance. The SCA decided to start gathering information about what a city may look like, the process of incorporating, and determining if this would be a viable option for the community.
Gathering the Data
The South Cobb Alliance held over 50 information sessions, throughout the community, over a 3 year period. During these sessions the community expressed the desire to see changes in the current level of services being provided by the county. Surveys were taken to determine which services needed the most improvement. Residents wanted to know if it was feasible to become a city. The SCA contracted with the University of Georgia to produce a feasibly study for the incorporation of Mableton. The $28,000 study cost of the study was raised by the SCA through donations from the community. It was truly a grassroots effort that took nearly 2 years. The study determined that the proposed City of Mableton was feasible without raising property taxes. A surplus of $3.3 million would be available to the city after providing the services chosen by the citizens. Mableton had spoken and they wanted to vote.
Getting to the Ballot Box in November
In order for the people to vote, a two-year legislative process is required with the Georgia General Assembly, which includes public notices, public hearings, and passage by both the House fo Representatives and Senate. Once passed the bill is sent to the Governor for approval. Only after the bill is signed into the law, can the referendum be placed on the ballot allowing the people to vote. A bill was originally filled in 2019, but the Covid-19 Pandemic caused the 2020 legislative session to be shortened with the bill not being considered. This meant a new 2-year process has to be started. House Bill 839 was filled in 2021 for the incorporation of The City of Mableton. Now the work of getting the Georgia House and Senate to vote yes on the bill started. After sponsoring the bill Representative Erica Thomas worked to garner support from her colleagues across both sides fo the isles. In an almost unanimous vote of 134-2, the Georgia House voted yes on HB839. Once the bill advanced to the Senate, Senators Micheal "Doc" Rhett and Horacena Tate managed to obtain unanimous consent with a vote fo 55-0. The South Cobb Alliance, our representative, and the citizens of Mableton had one more step to climb. The Governor needed to sign the bill into law and that is exactly what he did in May 9, 2022. The citizens of the Mableton will have their chance to vote in November 2022! Together we can create The City of Mableton.
