Study Sheds Light on Fiscal Impact of Incorporating Peachtree Corners
Officially speaking, a city is considered fiscally viable if it can support specific services and levels from an expected revenue stream. But if the city doesn’t yet exist, how can that be known?
The Vinson Institute is helping a citizen group in Gwinnett County understand the key fiscal implications surrounding an interest in an incorporation of the Peachtree Corners area into a municipality. The area has experienced substantial growth in recent years and, as a result, increased demands for higher levels of planning and governance.
Using an established process, Vinson Institute faculty are able to make certain assumptions about what basic services the new city would provide and the governmental and administrative structures needed to support them. For example, in order to complete the code enforcement process, the new city would need to operate or contract for the operation of a municipal court, explains John O’Looney, Vinson Institute faculty member and study director.
The Institute team will then identify four-six comparison cities based on population and general development characteristics to use as a basis for developing fiscal data for the Peachtree Corners municipality in such areas as start-up capitol costs, administrative and departmental costs, indirect costs, and revenues and expenditures.
In the end, citizens will have an accurate estimate of the fiscal impact of the incorporation of the Peachtree Corners area that would not have been accessible otherwise.
For more information about local government studies, check here.
