ATLANTA -- The proposal to merge Bibb County and Macon got a little closer to appearing on a countywide ballot this year, as the state House of Representatives approved a consolidation measure Monday in a 149-9 vote.
The bill’s author, state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, said the key to a successful merger is how a new consolidated government would be structured.
“If it’s not set up properly, I’m not going to be for consolidation,” he said.
Peake said he’s watching the Senate closely and said he’s happy to negotiate some points. The Senate must also sign off on the plan for it to move forward.
Peake’s bill would create a nine-member county commission, and he’s not interested in making it any bigger, saying that number is already a compromise. Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, is skeptical of nine members, saying he’d prefer seven.
“We have already seen in Macon government that more is not necessarily better,” Staton said.
The consolidated governments of Athens-Clarke County and of Augusta-Richmond County each have 10 commissioners.
Peake also would like non-partisan elections to the commission, but that idea would have to be passed under a different bill.
He also insists on the creation of a minimum of two tax districts: one urban, one rural. In his bill, the city of Macon would be in the urban district, while the rest of the county would be in the rural one. The county commission would be able to set different property tax rates in the two districts, commensurate with the level of government services each district receives.
“I keep hearing from people, ‘my taxes are going to go up,’ ” Peake said.
These two tax districts would make sure everyone pays an appropriate part of the government’s bills, he said.
Under his proposal, a mayor elected at-large throughout the county basically would act as an executive, and the commission would be the legislative body. The commission would be able to amend the budget and override the mayor’s veto.
The bill passed by the House also requires that the unified government’s budget in fiscal 2013 start at an amount equal to the two budgets combined in fiscal 2012 but then fall by at least 5 percent by 2017. Last year, the lack of a shrinking budget rule proved a barrier to Senate approval. At that time, Staton proposed a 20 percent cut, a number he said he still wants.
Peake admitted, “I haven’t talked to anyone yet who says, ‘I love the whole thing.’ ”
“No one is going to be 100 percent satisfied,” he said.
Peake said he’s optimistic he can get broad agreement on a consolidation plan that’s fundamentally sound and that everyone finds 95 percent acceptable.
Besides, he pointed out, the Legislature can, in future years, tweak the rules for consolidated government that are in his bill.
But Staton said he thinks the bill stands just about where it did last year when it failed in the Senate.
“We’re a long way from having consolidation,” said Staton, who must sign any plan for it to get through the Senate.
Holding a House vote on the bill was an unusual move. Usually all bills that only affect one locality pass unanimously in one package. However, state Rep. David Lucas, D-Macon, requested a separate vote so that he could show his disagreement.
Lucas and eight other Democrats voted against the bill. Rep. Nikki Randall, D-Macon, abstained. The bill does not need their approval. It only needs a majority of local legislators in each chamber. In the House, that’s four. In the Senate, because there are only two delegation senators, both must agree.
Sen. Robert Brown, D-Macon, through an aide, declined to comment. There is no date yet set for Senate action.
To contact writer Maggie Lee, e-mail mlee@macon.com.
