By Larry Felton Johnson

Against the backdrop of the City of Mableton’s rejection of a stop-gap Service Delivery Strategy agreement with Cobb County at the May 28 Mableton City Council Meeting, here is a brief description of what those agreements are, and how and why the State of Georgia mandates them.

Service Strategy Agreements are defined in an Act passed by the Georgia legislature in 1997. The legislation came about as a result of intense negotiation between the two categories of government affected by the Act: county governments (through their organization, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia) and cities within the counties (through their organization, the Georgia Municipal Association).

The Act mandates that each county and its municipalities meet and develop a strategy that:

• Identifies all local government services currently provided within the county.
• Assigns responsibility for delivering each service to specific local governments or authorities.
• Outlines funding mechanisms for these services.
• Includes legal instruments (e.g., intergovernmental agreements, ordinances) to implement the strategy.

These strategies are submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for verification and review. Although the DCA doesn’t have direct enforcement powers, the penalties for not reaching agreements can be harsh, as noncompliant local governments risk losing eligibility for state permits and financial assistance.

Why did the state mandate Service Delivery Strategy agreements?

In a document entitled “Charting a Course for Cooperation and Collaboration” prepared by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, the Georgia Municipal Association, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, the authors wrote:

In 1995, the Georgia General Assembly created the Georgia Future Comunities Commission to examine the issues confronting local governments, to determine what changes are needed to improve their structure and operation and to develop specific proposals to achieve those changes. Its ultimate charge was to offer ideas on how our communities can create an environment conducive to an improved quality of life and economic prosperity.

By the summer of 1996, the 30-member Commission of city and county officials, usiness leaders and state legislators concluded that while Georgia’s system of local government has served our State well for many years, the lack of a clear legal distinction between cities and counties since 1972 has fostered inefficient service delivery systems and unhealthy conflict in too many of our communities.

Searching for an appropriate solution to the growing problem of service duplication, overlap and competition, the idea of requiring cities and counties to develop a Service Delivery Strategy was born. While agreeing on the concept of a locally-controlled process for sorting out service delivery responsibilities and funding sources was easy, negotiating the details of the legislation proved to be an arduous and time-consuming task. Compromise between the Georgia Municipal Association and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia was a necessity.

Who enforces compliance with the Service Delivery Strategy Act?

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs verifies compliance with the Act.

If a county or municipality fails to submit an SDS or if the submitted strategy doesn’t meet the required standards, the DCA will not verify it. Without DCA verification, local governments become ineligible for state-administered funding and permits. This includes, but is not limited to, grants, loans, and permits related to infrastructure, environmental management, and community development.

For clear and informative reading on Georgia’s Service Delivery Strategy Act, follow this link to “Charting a Course for Cooperation and Collaboration”