Can Things Get Better For This Small Georgia Town?"

“Can Things Get Better For This Small Georgia Town”

The small Georgia town here is Stockbridge, Georgia that has a population just over 26,000 and is the largest city in Henry County.  But there are problems that loom over this city and have done so for some time.  Much of the problem has been due to such an influx of people over a short period of time and then changes have not been forthcoming to keep up with the influx of people.

 

Many people down Stockbridge and say horrible things about them.  But they are not the only city in Georgia that is going through such a turmoil.  What many people must realize is that many of the older residents who were born and raised here don’t like the change that has come so quickly.  When you are making changes to an area that has been rich in family, religion and slow paced life you must not push things down their throats.  That goes for the whole of Henry County.  Ease things in on them so that they will be able to accept that is happening around them.

 

The city is and has been in the state of a turmoil ever since “eminent domain” became an issue with the city trying to force the old florist to sell to them.  That action put a black eye upon the city and there have been camps of people who have varying views on everything now.  It doesn’t matter the issue there are people out there to attack it.  Right now the issue of the DDA has been a problem since the first of the year.  When the new Mayor and Council took over they rendered the past DDA null and void because it was not formed correctly.  It went to Superior Court and Judge Crumbly ruled in favor of the City saying that the DDA was not properly created.

 

Now this brings up two more issues.  What to do with the sitting council member who served on the DDA and the council member who signed an affidavit in support of the defunct DDA.  This shows a large rift between the council members.  And their seems to be an element of who is in charge of the meetings at this time.  The Mayor who is to preside over the council meetings and add what he is doing for the city.  Then there is the Mayor Pro-tem which means he is to take over in the absence of the Mayor.  But that Council member has shown waves of wanting to control the meetings.  If he is trying to take over the meetings and be the head of the city then the Mayor must set the record straight.  If the council man who is mayor pro-tem wants to be mayor then he should resign and run for the mayors position when it comes up again in 2017.

 

All the bad blood is circulating around an antiquated charter that in several points contradicts itself.  The Mayor and Council should set up a group of citizens from the City of Stockbridge with one person from the council involved as well as a legal authority and let them re write the charter and put it up for a vote by the citizens and then if passed send it to the Georgia General Assembly and they will okay it and the Governor signs it and it is a legal charter.  That way the archaic parts of the charter can be taken out and all that is pertaining to this century will go forward.  This is a good idea and they should give it some serious thought.

 

Things can get better for this small city in Georgia, but if changes are not made it will continue to move in circles.  Hopefully, they can move forward and become a more enriched body of people.  May we pray that God helps to lead them in the right direction.