Georgia Local Government Law: a Reflection on Thirty Surveys - R. Perry Sentell, Jr.

• Citation: Vol. 46 No. 1
• Publication year: 1994

Special Contributions

Georgia Local Government Law: A Reflection on Thirty Surveysby R. Perry Sentell, Jr.^*

I. Introduction

Pulling a survey chain is demanding work. Pulling a survey chain for thirty years manifests (at best) perseverance. Pulling a survey chain, for thirty years, around the boundaries of "Local Government Law" approaches the Sisyphean.¹ Such obstinacy demands a marking of the occasion—a staking of the claim that sheer persistence counts for something. If continuity contributes order, then "Local Government Law" deserves distinction. Presumably, it numbers among the most "orderly" of presentations appearing in these annual "Georgia Survey" issues.

Alas, the presumption falters. Rather, review reveals, each year's installment goes its own way, both in organization and in substance. Few analytical themes unify the respective articles, and presentation styles unaccountably ebb and flow. Even subtopic headings "diverge, combine, appear, and disappear in seeming disorderliness."²

Typically, this untidiness might be blamed on the student editors, but there is difficulty in that tactic. The author's fight for freedom from editorial control is famous. The editors have long since despaired of his conversion. If there is fault, those editors promptly avow, it is the author's alone.

Slight solace might be taken in analogy. These analytical wanderings fall only ten years short of the mark set by Moses. Perhaps an additional decade will bring Commandments of order to this endeavor as well. Presently, however, such aspirations remain relegated to the promised land.

Although conditions thus bode awkwardly for a "survey of the surveys," a few facets might nevertheless be tabulated. At the least, those facets will place the thirty-year exercise in context. Hopefully, they will reflect a scholarship of good faith.

Highlights in place, the endeavor will seek observations from the present occupants of the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals. What better source for reflection upon three decades of judicial decisions than justices and judges of the courts that rendered those decisions?

II. The Thirty-Year Journey: Foundational Facets in Retrospect

Although but a blink of the jurisprudential eye, three decades occupy a considerable span in "survey years." Thirty annual appraisals of "Local Government Law" in print provide overwhelming impetus to take stock. From the mechanically minute to the substantively impressive, a few points deserve inventory.

A. Physical Coverage

One route to placing perspective upon the endeavor comes by emphasis of physical presences—things and people. The period 1963 to 1992 yielded a full measure of things and people. Tangibly, of course, there are thirty volumes of the Mercer Law Review, each containing a survey article on Georgia local government law.³ Those articles are analogous to the motion picture director's completed film, or the architect's finished structure. Of course, they also analogize to the brick mason's irretrievably leaning outhouse, or the computer programmer's irretractable glitch.

Personalities. More importantly, each article emits its own penumbras—visions of distinctive, and shaping, events and personalities. These all compete for remembrance.

An earlier facetious reference to the editors should not go uncorrected. Each is remembered as a dehghtful and caring young person who exerted his or her very best efforts in dealing with a thankless perplexity. They are listed below, with apology for evoking an unpleasant memory, but with deep gratitude.⁴

Technicalities. The law review "purist" may savor a number of coverage details. For instance, the surveys extend from Volume 15 through Volume 44 of the Mercer Law Review. The surveyed Georgia Supreme Court decisions span 45 volumes of the Georgia Reports (217 Ga. through 262 Ga.). The covered Georgia Court of Appeals decisions transcend 97 volumes of the Georgia Appeals Reports (105 Ga. App. through 202 Ga. App.). Total summarized decisions extend throughout 290 volumes of the Southeastern Reporter (Second) (125 S.E.2d through 415 S.E.2d).

The three decades also encompassed other denning developments. For instance, the period overlapped three Georgia Constitutions, each of which continued the tradition of devoting specific and extensive attention to numerous details of local government.⁵ The time span also included two official Georgia codifications.⁶

Obviously, these changing constitutional and legislative landscapes impacted in decisive fashion the judicial tending of local government law.

B. The Survey Articles: Pages & Cases

Survey article length runs from a low of 21 pages (Vols. 15 & 20) to a high of 54 pages (Vol. 24).⁷ The thirty articles consume a total of 981 pages, with an accompanying grand total of 9,048 footnotes.⁸

An overall scan of the articles (far from exact and not purporting to include cases treated only in footnotes) yields minimum totals as follows: 772 surveyed cases involving municipalities, and 791 cases dealing with counties. This amounts to a thirty-year total of 1,563 local government law cases. Accordingly, each survey article averaged coverage of 25 "municipal" cases and 26 "county" cases, a total (average) of 51 local government law cases per article. The smallest number of cases (34) appeared in Volume 15, and the largest number of cases (74) appeared in Volume 30. Table I indicates the surveyed cases in each volume.

Table I

Total Cases Surveyed in Each Volume

Volume	Cases	Volume	Cases	Volume	Cases	Volume	Cases
15	34	23	55	31	71	39	46
16	37	24	68	32	71	40	58
17	41	25	64	33	55	41	39
18	45	26	60	34	57	42	37
19	44	27	58	35	36	43	56
20	48	28	72	36	37	44	53
21	42	29	59	37	54
22	50	30	74	38	42	30 V. 1,563 C.

C. The Survey Articles: Subtopics

As lamented, a degree of analytical inconsistency renders topical synthesis of the articles somewhat problematic. For reasons undoubtedly seeming sound when preparing individual articles, subtopic changes occurred over time. Some subtopics experienced further subdivision,⁹ consolidation,¹⁰ and even elimination.¹¹ Confusingly, therefore, cases may appear inconsistently categorized over the course of the entire endeavor. This is to confess that confusion and to caution other prospective surveyors: Be careful—you may have to interpret your own work.

Confessions aside, it is nevertheless instructive to note the different subject matter headings appearing throughout the articles. Those headings constitute the channels through which this thirty-year analysis of local government law has proceeded. Although municipal and county discussions utilize a number of common subtopic headings, they also harbor divergences.

Municipal Subtopics. The surveyed cases on municipal law have appeared under a total of 23 subtopic headings. One heading ("Liability") appeared in every survey article, and several topics (e.g., "Consolidation," "Extraterritoriality") claimed only one listing during the course of thirty years. Table II reflects the complete list of subtopics, grouped and arranged according to their frequency of appearance.

Table II

Municipalities: Subtopic Frequency of Appearance

Appearing in over 25 Articles:

Liability (30)

Officers & Employees (28)

Zoning (26)

Appearing in 20 to 25 Articles:

Powers (24)

Contracts (21)

Appearing in 15 to 20 Articles:

Annexation (16)

Legislation (15)

Appearing in 10 to 15 Articles:

Taxation (14)

Elections (13)

Authorities (12)

Regulation (11)

Appearing in 5 to 10 Articles:

Courts (6)

Property (5)

Creation and Dissolution (5)

Openness (5)

Appearing in Less than 5 Articles:

Home Rule (4)

Finances (4)

Schools (2)

Miscellaneous (2)

Revenue Bonds (1)

Legislative Control (1)

Consolidation (1)

Extraterritoriality (1)

County Subtopics. The articles discussed county law decisions under a total of 24 subtopic headings. No heading appeared in every article, although "Zoning" came close (29 appearances). Several headings (e.g., "Bonding," "Vacating Office") laid claim to only one appearance. Table III includes the complete list of county subtopics, grouped and arranged according to their frequency of appearance.

Table III

Counties: Subtopic Frequency of Appearance

Appearing in over 25 Articles:

Zoning (29)

Liability (28)

Appearing in 20 to 25 Articles:

Officers & Employees (25)

Taxation (21)

Appearing in 15 to 20 Articles:

Powers (19)

Schools (17)

Legislation (16)

Appearing in 10 to 15 Articles:

Contracts (14)

Authorities (12)

Elections (10)

Appearing in 5 to 10 Articles:

Finances (8)

Home Rule (7)

Openness (7)

Regulation (6)

Appearing in Less than 5 Articles:

Roads (4)

Property (3)

Courts (2)

Condemnation (2)

Revenue Bonds (1)

Bonding (1)

Rapid Transit (1)

Vacating Office (1)

Law Enforcement (1)

Miscellaneous (1)

D. The Survey Articles: Subtopics & Cases

With subtopic headings identified, review now turns to the number of judicial decisions surveyed under each heading. This association gauges the subjects' hold on appellate judicial attention during the past thirty years. Around these substantive mileposts, and virtually no others, the Georgia courts have evolved modern legal principles of local government. The results leave students of local government law with much for reflection. Initial groupings again devote separate attention to municipalities and counties.

Municipal Cases. The total number of court decisions involving municipalities (772) must be distributed among the 23 subtopic headings. Table IV effects that distribution and arranges the headings according to the number of cases treating each of them.

Table IV

Subtopics According to Number of Municipal Cases

Over 150 Cases:

Liability (195)

100 to 150 Cases:

Officers & Employees (101)

50 to 100 Cases:

Powers (99)

Zoning (81)

40 to 50 Cases:

Legislation (42)

Contracts (40)

30 to 40 Cases:

Taxation (38)

Regulation...