Intergovernmental Coordination

The work that Georgia's cities and counties do isn't always neatly contained within city limits or county boundaries.  The Office of Planning oversees several programs that State law provides to help manage challenges and opportunities that cross borders. 

• Service Delivery Strategies (SDSs):  These documents detail which cities and counties provide what public services to what territory and how those services are funded.  The Office of Planning reviews these documents to ensure that they contain all the components required by statute.
• Annexation Reporting:  City governments are required to file reports with the State whenever they annex territory from their county to ensure state and federal records are appropriately updated.  The Office of Planning maintains a system for filing these reports. 
• Arbitration of Annexation Disputes:  Counties do not always agree with annexations proposed by their cities.  State law requires DCA to provide panelists to arbitrate these intergovernmental conflicts and to maintain the records of their outcomes.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution:  When local governments disagree about incompatible neighboring land uses, the delivery of public services, or other cross-border issues, there are several means of addressing and resolving those disputes.  The Office of Planning provides several resources to facilitate those processes.