« Lilburn and Norcross seeking annexations »

Two Gwinnett cities are seeking to annex nearby area in order to grow their communities.  Last week, the AJC reported that Norcross would its increase land area by about 50%, adding 4000 residents in the process.  Last month, the AJC reported that Lilburn was seeking to grow, a move that would make it the second largest city in Gwinnett.  The annexation would double Lilburn's population to 24,000 and more than double the city's land area.  

The question I would like to ask of Norcross and Lilburn is why?  What is the justification for enlarging your cities?  Lilburn City Manager Bill Johnsa says, “It’s time for Lilburn to grow.”  "Time to grow" is not a compelling reason to add a layer of government to an area.

Maybe it has to do with the shape of the cities.  Norcross' annexation would "[square] off the city."  Lilburn would benefit from a smoothed city border as well:

Also, smoothing rough Lilburn boundary lines would “give us some consistent boundaries, so if you’re going down the road, you know properties on both sides are in the city,” said Doug Stacks, city director of planning and economic development.

(Yes, that is the same Doug Stacks that ran against Mike Beaudreau last summer for District 3 commmissioner.  If anyone questions whether I can be critical even of someone I support here is your evidence.)  Having a city limit down the middle of a road is hardly a compelling justification for expanded government.

I figure the most likely reason is money. Though Norcross mayor Bucky Johnson notes that his city's proposal would be revenue neutral, Lilburn may stand to gain financially from its expansion.

Lilburn would add $1.9 million a year in property tax revenue, with the inclusion of 4,800 residential and 188 commercial parcels.

Couple this with the fact that Lilburn wants to join the ranks of Gwinnett cities with bloated city hall buildings and we may be onto something.  (The question of why, in the depths of a recession, a city government intends to spend $8 million on a grandiose city hall is a question that could be an entire seperate post!)  While money does not explain Norcross' motivations, revenue seems to be the most likely reason that it is "time for Lilburn to grow."  After all, never discount the propensity of government to grow and expand its sphere of influence.

Just this week I argued that we should be eliminating small municipal jurisdictions not growing them.  Except for the largest cities, I fail to see why a community should fund an additional layer of government.  Case in point, Johnsa points out that Lilburn's "city services — including police, planning and code enforcement — also would grow."  Doesn't Gwinnett County already provide those services to the area that would be incorporated into the city?  While Lilburn will spend more to provide these services, Gwinnett will likely be unable to scale back its costs to a matching degree.  The net effect of this growth would be greater overall governmental inefficiency.  There is a reason businesses merge, one of which is to eliminate inefficient duplication of tasks.  Government is doing the polar opposite.

What is not clear from the article is whether impacted residents get to vote on this Liliburn annexation as residents near Norcross will.  If those directly impacted choose to vote this in, I have much less alarm over a government power and revenue grab.  However, I still fail to see an a strong justification for either Norcross or Lilburn's initiatives.

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