By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | By the end of 2015, Rest Haven Mayor Kenneth Waycaster may no longer have the town’s top job. In reality, no one will, for by then, there may no longer be any residents of Rest Haven. They will be residing instead, by design, in Buford. Not one resident will be left to run the city.
For 10-15 years, Rest Haven has been trying to go out of business as a city. For one reason or another, including at least one law suit, and a few businessmen’s objections, city officials in Rest Haven have wanted to do away with their city.
Their city, and Sugar Hill, both were created in 1939. Rest Haven was always small, a half mile wide and a mile long, split down the road that bisects it. While Sugar Hill over the years grew and prospered, Rest Haven had little growth. The most people ever living in the city was 150 residents. Today there are only 37 residents, in seven families, all related to one another.
Today Rest Haven’s budget is only $25,000 annually, with most of it from franchise fees from Georgia Power, business licenses, or SPLOST tax sharing. The city charges no property tax. Expenditures are mostly for city lighting and road repair, if needed.
Mayor Waycaster says: “Our residents want to become part of Buford, so that we can enjoy their better services. And it’ll save us money, since Buford also has no property tax, and a lower school tax than does Gwinnett County. We want to have what the people of Buford have.” Buford’s school tax is at 12.9 mills, compared with 20.5 mills for Gwinnett County.
Meanwhile, Buford has over the years been helpful to Rest Haven in a number of ways. It has already annexed most of the east side of the road through Rest Haven. Of the original 320 acres in Rest Haven, only about 130 acres remain in the city.
Waycaster says: “If it wasn’t for Buford, I don’t know what we would do.”
Buford’s chairman of its city commission, Philip Beard, is willing to take in the residents of Rest Haven who want to come in. “We’re cautious not to be injurious to the city, or take in anyone who does not want to be in Buford. We don’t want to infringe on any property owners.” He admits the situation has dragged, since it “has not been No. 1 on our agenda” over the years.
But Beard also has been working on four-laning Buford Highway through Rest Haven, which is now set for a contract letting in June, 2016. It would take about a year for engineering and other preparations, with the road to be widened by 2017 or 2018.
The way the law reads, if Rest Haven de-annexes property within their city, Buford can then annex it. That’s the way much of Rest Haven has migrated to Buford.
Another way is for the State Legislature to do that, but that is usually more complicated.
Yet the possibility arises that if the 37 residents become part of Buford this year, there will be no one within the city limits to serve as mayor and council members of the town. There will be no one to set the budget, or even spend the few dollars the city previously took in. Rest Haven will have effectively become defunct.
Perhaps by then the Legislature can come to the position of recognizing this, and de-incorporate the city. That would clean up matters.
And Gwinnett will be back to having 15 cities within its borders—still the most in Georgia.
Follow Us