Milton, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Milton, Georgia |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Georgia |
| County | Fulton County |
| Mayor | Joe Lockwood |
| Area | |
| - City | km² |
| Population | |
| - City (2000) | |
| Time zone | EST (UTC) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC) |
Milton (population approximately 20,000) is an area of Fulton County, Georgia which became incorporated as a "city" (the only type of municipality in the state) on December 1, 2006. According to special legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly in March 2006, and signed by the governor of Georgia in March 2006, it was created out of the entire unincorporated northwestern part of northern Fulton County, bounded by Roswell on the south, Alpharetta on the east, Forsyth County on the northeast, and Cherokee County on the west. A referendum was held on July 18, and the citizens voted, with 86% in favor, to make Milton a city.
The main purpose of this action is as part of the complete municipalization of Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta and awkwardly stretches across metro Atlanta from north to southwest, having taken its parts from three other counties. In recent years there has been growing animosity by those in the affluent north over tax revenue needed in the less-developed southwest, as well as over excessive land development and zoning, and other issues of local control. The city of Johns Creek was created at the same time further east in northern Fulton County for the same reasons.
At the opposite end of the county, the cities of South Fulton and Chattahoochee Hills Country have also passed the legislature and been signed by the governor, but will not vote until 2007. Unlike Milton and Johns Creek there was in fact little or no local news coverage nor public push to create those cities — their only purpose is complete municipalization of the county and elimination of the county commission by default. This comes in the wake of 2005's incorporation of Sandy Springs, which was already a very developed city of over 80,000 people. All incorporations are using the same temporary suspension of state law which requires any new city's boundaries to be at least three miles (4.8km) from any existing city.
Milton was not named for any of its historic communities, but rather because northern Fulton County (generally north of the Chattahoochee River) is almost entirely comprised of the former Milton County, which was in turn named for either John Milton or Homer V. Milton. It has been proposed that the county be re-created, and some feel that incorporation is a step toward this, though municipalization seems to make this moot.
Now-obscure communities to be within Milton's city limits include Birmingham, Field's Cross Roads, and others.
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[edit] Incorporation
A citizen's committee was formed in 2005 to help determine the viability of incorporating unincorporated northwest Fulton County. This committee was led by George Ragsdale and included Cindy Hollingsworth, Gregory Mishkin, Chris Lagerbloom, Joelle Corcoran, Diana Wheeler, Vic Jones, Tina d'Aversa-Williams, Karen Thurman, John McMillan, Heidi Sowder, Jim Cheatham, and others. Through the efforts of Representative Jan Jones and this committee, the Georgia State House and Senate approved a bill creating the city of Milton on March 9, 2006. At 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28, 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue signed the bill into law. In 2006, voters approved a ballot referendum on July 18 by more than 86%, which calls for general elections in November 2006 and activation of the city charter on December 1. Along with Johns Creek, this marks only the second time in Georgia history that a city was created by means of a voter referendum, the first being Sandy Springs.
On August 4, 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed a five-person commission to serve as the interim government of Milton. This Commission was comprised of Ron Wallace (Chairman), Gregory Mishkin (Secretary), Cecil Pruett, Brandon Beach and Dan Phelan.
Milton adopted the existing county ordinances on December 1, as Sandy Springs did at a midnight meeting when it was incorporated.
Other alternatives, such as returning to Cherokee County, or creating a township to remove home rule from the county, were not considered. Some are concerned the tax base is too small to provide the state-required municipal services.
[edit] Geography
There is currently no geographic information available, as the USGS GNIS does not yet recognize Milton as a community. The USPS also does not yet recognize Milton, both as of July 2006.
The City of Milton estimates it area to be about 23,000 acres.
[edit] Demographics
The current census provides no information about Milton, as Milton did not exist in 2000, nor was it a census-designated place.
The city of Milton estimates its initial population to be about 20,000.
[edit] Government
[edit] Officials
- Mayor: Joe Lockwood
- District 1: Karen Thurman
- District 2: Julie Zahner Bailey
- District 3: Bill Lusk (elected in a run-off election)
- District 4: Neal O'Brien (elected in a run-off election)
- District 5: Tina D'Aversa-Williams
- District 6: Rick Mohrig
[edit] Services
Most services are initially being handled by consulting firm CH2M Hill-OMI, while some are temporarily being continued by the county.
[edit] External links
- City of Milton website
- Access Milton
- Milton incorporation legislation
- City of Milton Interim Government Commission
Incorporated places: Atlanta (County seat) • Alpharetta • College Park • East Point • Fairburn • Hapeville • Johns Creek • Milton • Mountain Park • Palmetto • Roswell • Sandy Springs • Union City
Census-designated places: Campbellton • Red Oak • Rico • Birmingham • Shakerag • Crabapple • Sandtown • Chattahoochee Hill Country • South Fulton
