Sandy Springs incorporation opened the door to other municipalities

Sandy Springs created itsdowntown with City Springs When Sandy Springs became a city in it provided the impetus for nearby areas to do the same changing the landscape of the North Atlanta metro area Now on the th anniversary of its incorporation mayors from nearby cities reflect on the influence Sandy Springs had on their journeys to cityhood Dunwoody Dunwoody officially became a city in three years after Sandy Springs incorporated Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch Dunwoody incorporated in following the model and momentum that Sandy Springs set Their success gave us the confidence to pursue local control We saw firsthand how a city could be managed with a focus on function transparency and fiscal responsibility Nearly two decades later both cities have thrived Together we have transformed the northern arc of DeKalb and Fulton Counties into a region known for its innovation collaboration and quality of life We are grateful to Sandy Springs for proving that local voices matter and for inspiring so a multitude of others including Dunwoody to build strong responsive and visionary cities of their own Brookhaven Brookhaven incorporated in December Brookhaven Mayor John Park When Sandy Springs became the first new city in metro Atlanta it became a blueprint for other suburban areas dissatisfied with county-level management Sandy Springs flourishing transition to cityhood and its focus on a high level of quality of local institution delivery inspired the residents of what is now Brookhaven It got everyone thinking If they can do it we can too Sandy Springs success gave Brookhaven advocates both a roadmap and political momentum In essence Sandy Springs opened the door to a wave of new cities across the Atlanta region demonstrating how determined civic leadership could reshape local governance Milton Milton became a city in December just one year after Sandy Springs incorporated Milton Mayor Peyton Jamison Twenty years ago Sandy Springs ignited a wave of municipal change across metro Atlanta a wave that would eventually reach the northern suburbs and pave the way for Milton What made Sandy Springs transformative was not only the decision to become a city but the way it chose to operate By contracting for the majority services and forming strong populace and private partnerships it demonstrated a bold efficient alternative to traditional regime Neighboring communities took notice seeing a model that offered greater control over services taxation and accountability The impact was immediate Sandy Springs became both template and catalyst Its success helped communities like ours turn the goal of self-governance into a lasting reality Tucker Tucker officially became a city in March Tucker Mayor Frank Auman Tucker is grateful to the people of Sandy Springs for their more than -year effort to form the first new city in Georgia in nearly years Their success reminded several around the state of the foundational indispensable value of local administration As Tucker celebrates the th anniversary of our achieving cityhood referendum and we reflect on the numerous benefits cityhood has provided we are more convinced than ever that our district has seen a critical increase in our quality of life that purely wouldn t have been manageable without local decision-making and hands-on regime by neighbors on behalf of neighbors The post Sandy Springs incorporation opened the door to other municipalities appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta