Advisory Referendums In Hall County Go Back To 1956

One of the big issues in this year's Hall County election has been impact fees. Or perhaps the issue has been the fact that a yes-or-no vote on impact fees was placed on the special elections ballot of November 6, 2001, and a majority of the voters said it would
be a good idea. It appears all people running for the Commission this year have said they will follow the wishes of the voters, and are for impact fees. But the question gets sticky when you consider the item we voted on was 37 words long, and now the County Commission has to convert that into a law that will affect us all.

It also brings up the question: how come we voted on the question at all? The reason it could be on our ballot goes back to 1956 when the legislature passed local legislation that would allow Hall County to hold what is called "Advisory Referendums' Some say the idea was put forth so the Commission would not have to vote yes or no on whether Hall County should go wet or stay dry; others insist that was not the reason at all. But the fact is that Hall County is, to this day, the only county in Georgia where a legal advisory referendum may be held. Even so, it is not binding. The original law is clear that it is a means for the qualified voters of Hall County to express their opinion ... thus the term most often used is a non-binding resolution.

In 1992 the voters of Hall County were given a 26-word choice to study, or not, the merger of city and county governments. The voters said yes, but when the study committee finished its work they recommended against merger. And as the facts were brought forth by that study group, it is likely the voters would have voted against the merger plans that were being considered. As they said at the time: the devil is in the details.

The problem with advisoty referendums, it seems to me, is that it is fairly easy to write a one paragraph description of an issue, especially if it appears it might save us taxes, that will get a yes vote. But it is very difficult to write a law that is going to affect us all, and might not deliver the promise described in the pargraph.

This is Gordon Sawyer, from a window on historic Green Street.