Growth and change in rural Georgia: issues and opportunities, 1980

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BOARD
Chairman Leroy H. Johnson Commissioner, Coweta County
Vice Chairman Gerald Thompson Mayor, City of Fitzgerald
Secretary Lillian Webb Mayor, City of Norcross
Members James Griffin Funeral Director, Albany
James G. Hay Commissioner, Thomas County
Michael L. Lomax Commissioner, Fulton County
H. Hearn Lumpkin Retired, Hartwell
Larry J. Parrish Pharmacist, Swainsboro
Hobby Stripling Mayor, City of Vienna
March 1980

Prepared by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs under a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration.
The assistance of Robert L. Blalock, Director, Farmers Home Administration, Georgia State Office, and staff, in the publication of this document is gratefully acknowledged.
Commissioner: Henry M. Huckaby Coordinator: Roberta F. Carney Contributors: Bruce MacGregor, Mary Lou Taylor, David Wiltsee
Many other persons, in state and federal agencies, local governments, the Area Planning and Development Commissions, and other groups also contributed substantially to this report by providing information and reviewing drafts. Their assistance is gratefully acknowledged.
Photographs appear courtesy of the Georgia Department of Archives and History.
The map on page 4 appears courtesy of the Georgia Surveyor General Department, Office of Secretary of State.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON RURAL GEORGIA

Introduction

5

Definition of "Rural"

6

Rural Georgia's Growing Population

6

The 1970s-A Rural Renaissance

8

Patterns of Rural Growth

8

Summary of Key Population Facts

9

Rural Georgia's Expanding Economy

9

Employment Changes

9

Employment Rates

10

Income

11

Summary of Economic Facts

12

Regional Patterns of Rural Development

12

Mountain Region

12

Piedmont Region

12

Fall Line Region

14

Coastal Plain Region

14

ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Resource Use

17

Economic Development and Job Creation

23

Downtown Revitalization

27

Transportation

30

Energy Use and Conservation

33

Housing

36

Community Facilities and Services

41

Local Government

46

Health Care

53

Education

58

Vocational Education and Job Opportunities

64

ANew
Perspectie On Rural Georgia

Introduction
Nationwide, the trend has been called a "rural revival,"a "rural renaissance," and even a "rural r~birth." By whatever name it is called, the migration of people and industry to rural areas in Georgia is a dramatic switch from the previous trend of population and job loss.
With some exceptions, rural growth is going on without benefit of the many government programs which have been directed to urban areas since the 1950s and 1960s, when cities were growing and rural population was declining. Beginning in the 1960s, and increasing through the 1970s, rural population has begun to grow again, forcing public policy to take a new look at rural development needs. Many rural counties and towns now need help in responding to new growth opportunities and in providing better services to residents.
In the face of Georgia's rural revival, however, it should not be forgotten that many rural areas are still in a "catch up" position. Rural communities still have comparatively lower tax revenue bases. The rural wageearner still suffers from the loss of agricultural jobs which accompanied mechanization of agriculture and decline of the family farm, and because fewer jobs are available. The rural poor still suffer from years of isolation, substandard living conditions, limited educational opportunities, poor nutrition, and bad health.
In order to help small rural governments and rural residents catch up and take advantage of growth opportunities, the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), a division of the

U.S. Department of Agriculture, has commissioned the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to identify problems, issues, and opportunities involved in rural development in the State of Georgia.
In recognition that the rural poor have been left behind as prosperity among other groups has increased, a special focus of this report is problems of rural minorities, the poor and disadvantaged, and economically distressed communities.
In the context of this report, rural development is used to mean community, economic, and human resource development. The report does not focus specifically on farm problems but does recognize that a strong agricultural base and related business sectors are important parts of rural development. To develop the human resources, or "people potential", of rural areas, community and economic development-bringing expanded job opportunities, increased tax revenues, higher levels of income, and widened horizonsare also necessary.
This report therefore describes population and income trends and factors affecting development of job opportunities in rural Georgia. It also describes health and housing conditions, educational opportunities, and resource and energy use. The status of community facilities needed to serve growing population densities and problems facing small rural governments are also discussed.
In addition, the report identifies major issues facing rural Georgia as it both catches up and responds to new growth opportunities. The issues identified are ones which may

merit further study to determine actions which can be taken by federal, state and local government in response to Georgia's "rural revival."
For purposes of this report, urban counties are defined as those inside Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) and those in which a city of greater than 25,000 population is located. All other counties (125 out of 159) are considered rural.* (See map, page 7).
However, it has been necessary to use some data collected and aggregated for other purposes, which did not use the above definition of rural counties and urban counties. Much data makes a distinction only between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. When information in this report came from other sources, the terminology of the original source (usually metropolitannon-metropolitan) is used. When information was aggregated and analyzed specifically for this report, the terminology "rural county" or "urban county" is generally used.
Rural Georgia's Growing Population
For many parts of the United States, news of growth is hardly news at all. Population increases have been the rule for decades. Those familiar
* This definition does not count os rural certain counties within SMSAs which ore sparsely populated ond rurol in character, such os Bryon ond Twiggs counties. Deletion of these counties which, by virtue of their proximity to metropolitan oreos, hove access to urbon services ond job opportunities, allows onolysis of those strictly rural counties which ore not close to larger cities.

with 20th century patterns in the rural South, however, realize that the reversal of population flows marks the dawn of a long-awaited new age.
If any region of the United States has come-accurately or not-to epitomize poverty and hopelessness, it has been the rural South. From Appalachian hollers to dry and dusty tobacco roads through south Georgia, tradition clearly stated that opportunity knocked elsewhere.
During the 1970s, however, rural Georgia began to turn the corner toward growth and development. Stagnant since the 1920s, rural population is climbing steadily, both attracted by new non-agricultural jobs and repelled by urban living.
Indeed, until recently, urban meant growth and rural meant decline. For two decades preceding the Great Depression, rural-to-urban migration went on unabated. However, this trend slowed somewhat when unemployment and hard times resulting from the Depression caused those who had moved to the cities to retreat to old rural home places for survival's sake. Though the 1930s showed some rural population growth, it was growth based on desperation, not on newfound opportunity.
In 1930 six out of 10 Georgians lived in rural areas. Rural population was 1.75 million, urban just over 1 million. Between 1930 and 1940, rural population grew by only 50,000, whereas urban population jumped by 160,000. Even the influence of the Great Depression could not suppress the urbanizing trend.
From 1940 to 1970, urban population leaped ahead of rural population by

GEORGIA: Urban and Rural Counties

Major Cities

.......- .................. ~-.S.=M.I.A.J........c..i.t...,._. .
o........... Cidll,.,..__
........... CUiea., ....... - . -
........... Cl.... .,...........
...................... Cl.....,..........

almost 1 million. Rural population, which was 1.8 million in 1940, stagnated and was the same in 1970, although it did experience slight ups and downs during that period.
By 1970 the urban/rural population ratio of 1930 had completely reversed . Six out of 10 Georgians had become city dwellers and only four out of 10 were rural residents.
What caused 40 years of urban growth and rural decline during the mid-20th century?
Employment growth in southern cities which attracted rural people to jobs.
Out-migration of rural blacks and poor whites to large northern cities.
Decline in the agricultural work force; decline of the family farm; the advent of agribusiness and large scale agricultural technology.
Decline of !.mall towns deprived of their agricultural hinterlands.
The 1970s-A Rural Renaissance?
As the 1970s wind to a close, however, it appears that past declines in rural population have been halted and dramatically reversed. Interestingly, urban growth has also continued, but at a slower pace than from 1940 to 1970.
By 1980 rural areas will have: (1) grown by 15 percent, or more than 250,000; and (2) contributed a third of Georgia's overall population growth from 1970 to 1980. Although not verified by an official decennial census, these trends appear well established by all indications. The 1970s will be the first decade in 50

years in which substantial growth has occurred in both urban and rural Georgia.
Patterns of Rural Growth
A pattern of steady, overall growth has been demonstrated in most of rural Georgia. More than 80 percent of the state's 125 rural counties gained population in the period 1970-76. However, few rural places are experiencing "boom town" change. Only four of the 20 fastest growing counties statewide (197076) were rural counties (Brantley, Liberty, Carroll, and Murray). The other 16 are in metropolitan areas and are experiencing suburban expansion.
Viewing rural change by region (see map, page 13), the Mountain and Piedmont Regions are centers of rural growth with almost no decline in population. Of the 39 counties designated rural in these regions, only two are estimated to have lost population from 1970 to 1976. Rural growth in the Piedmont is the result of urban spillover. The Coastal Plain Region (the southern third of the state) is also experiencing general rural growth, with few declining places. Only six of the region's 57 counties are losing population.
Only the so-called Fall Line Region continues to demonstrate the rural decline that formerly haunted the entire state. Sixty percent of Georgia's declining rural counties are concentrated in this region. More than one-third of the region's 35 rural counties are declining; many of
1
the rest teeter between growth and decline.

Summary of Key Population Facts
Rural Georgia is experiencing population growth, reversing a 50-year trend of stagnation and decline.
Both rural and urban Georgia are simultaneously increasing in population. About one out of every three new Georgians is a rural resident.
From 1930 to 1970, the 60140 rural/urban population ratio was reversed. Today rural Georgia is holding to a little less than 40 percent of the state's population.
Rural population growth is not spread uniformly across the state. Practically all rural counties in the Mountain and Piedmont Regions are growing. The Fall Line Region (middle Georgia) continues to decline, having 60 percent of the state's declining rural counties.
Rural growth is gradual, not rapid. Only four of Georgia's 20 fastest growing counties are rural. Still, 104 out of 125 rural counties grew between 1970 and 1976.
The 1970 population of Georgia was 4,589,000, up from 3,445,000 in 1950. Black and other minority population in 1970 was 1,193,000 or 25 percent of total population. Total population in 1978 was estimated to be 5,166,800.
Rural Georgia's
Expanding Economy
A persistent misconception holds that most of rural Georgia's 2 million residents are farmers. In fact, farming as a way of life employs

less than 5 percent of Georgia's labor force (versus 20 percent in 1950 and 10 percent in 1960}.
The loss of some 200,000 farm workers in the last 30 years only begins to describe the decline of a way of life. Out-migration from agriculture has characterized the mid-20th century, abated only by a back-to-the-land move necessitated by the Great Depression. Larger farms under corporate ownership, with high technology operations, are the rule today. Family ownership and tenancy, once bulwarks of southern agriculture, are part of the passing scene.
The number of farms reached a peak of 225,000 in 1945, then dipped to 55,000 by 1974. Total land acreage devoted to farms, at 26 million acres in 1950, was reduced to 14 million by 1974.
One must not conclude, however, that agricultural production has declined; in fact, it has risen steadily for four decades. From 1969 to 1974 alone, the annual value of agricultural products almost doubled from $1 billion to $1.8 billion. The state has become a leading producer of peanuts, poultry, and pulpwood, while diversifying from the old cotton and tobacco economy. More recently, soybean production (largely for export) increased ninefold from 1964 to 1974 and is continuing to increase.
Employment Changes
Declines in farm employment have been more than offset by gains in manufacturing enterprises, many of which located in rural Georgia (and in the southeastern United States) during the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1950 and 1970. rural industry was

able to take advantage of a large pool of ex-agricultural workers available to work at low wages. Prior to 1950, rural industry consisted largely of textile and apparel manufacturing. Since 1950, textile and apparel employment have continued to grow in total numbers, along with employment in a number of other, higher wage industries practically non-existent in 1950. Today, rural manufacturing is still dominated by textiles and apparel, which supply 40 percent of total employment. However, this percentage is down from the 55 percent level of 30 years ago.
Diversification of rural manufacturing is the rule today. Such industries as paper production, transportation equipment, fabricated metals, rubber and plastics, and electrical equipment have grown practically from the ground up in 30 years. Though no single industry dominates as do textiles and apparel combined, together these new industries account for significant numbers employed and continued employment growth in rural areas.
Increased buying power of rural residents has caused demands for urban goods and services, increasing employment in the trade and services sectors of rural economies over the past 30 years.
More and more, the economic structure of rural Georgia resembles that of urban Georgia. Rural and urban grow closer each year in percentages of workers in manufacturing, services, retail trade, banking and insurance, and government. The rural economy is becoming more a mirror image of the urban economy.

Employment Rates
Unemployment is not as serious a problem in rural areas as in urban, if one takes federal and state statistics literally. For example, Georgia's metropolitan area unemployment rate for October 1977 was 7.3 percent while non-metro unemployment stood at 5.8 percent. A year later, metro Georgia had 6 percent unemployed, non-metro 5.6 percent. Similar trends are found over the past decade, with urban unemployment exceeding rural.
In October 1978, rural counties had considerably less of an unemployment problem than did the state as a whole. Of the 125 rural counties, 72 had unemployment rates below the statewide rate of 5.8 percent, while 53 had rates equal to or higher than the state's. This pattern has apparently held during the 1970s, according to spot checks of unemployment statistics.
Unemployment rates vary considerably from one rural county to another and over the course of time. Rural counties with abnormally high unemployment rates over extended periods of time are dotted around the state, not concentrated in any particular area. Such counties appear to have one thing in common however: declining or stagnating farms. Since most new economic activity coming to rural counties locates in cities or towns, economic stagnation is both a cause and effect of unemployment and economic decline in surrounding unincorporated areas.
Unemployment statistics alone do not tell the whole story, however. Urban unemployment is often rural

unemployment in disguise. In better times, the unemployed rural resident migrates to the city in search of a job he or she is unable to find; opportunity at home might have mitigated the need to leave for the city, ultimately to become an urban statistic.
The actual size of the labor force may be understated for rural areas, thus keeping the unemployment rate down. The labor force is made up of those people working plus those looking. It is probable that a large number of rural people would work (i.e., be members of the labor force), but know that few jobs are available in their vicinities. Consequently, they do not look for jobs and are not counted in the work force . Women are particularly likely to be undercounted in this way.
Finally, statistical measures of unemployment fail to enumerate the underemployed-those whose jobs do not match their education, abilities, or potentials. Underemployment, though not routinely measured, nevertheless is an acute problem in rural areas. Underemployment often occurs where both the number and variety of jobs is limited, and where job advancement is possible only by moving to another area where better jobs are available. The underemployed person may realize his plight but, wishing to continue living in the same place, keeps his lower-paid job.
Income
Income in rural Georgia has risen steadily during the past halfcentury. Nevertheless, rural incomes are still behind those of urban areas

of Georgia, the state as a whole, and the United States.
On the brink of the Great Depression, per capita income for rural Georgia was only 39 percent of that of urban Georgia and less than 33 percent of the United States. Up to 1970 rural incomes rose both in amount and relative to the state and nation, reflecting, in part, the development of a more urban type economy in rural areas (decline of agriculture, rise of manufacturing, trade, and services).
By 1950, rural income had increased to more than half of urban, and by 1970 the average rural income was 70 percent of urban income, 80 percent of that of the state as a whole, and 69 percent of that of the United States. It appears that rural income has remained around 70 percent of urban through the 1970s, but urban Georgia has probably surpassed the national norm during the decade, indicating an increasing income for all Georgians compared to the nation.

In 1970, per capita incomes were as follows:

Rural Georgia Georgia (statewide) Urban Georgia United States

$2,720 3,354 3,856 3,933

Some indications are that per capita figures for Georgia have about doubled since 1970. If this is accurate, and if rural and urban Georgia have maintained about the same income ratio as in 1970, present day per capita incomes for urban and rural Georgia, respectively, would be $7,712 and $5,440. Although this ratio is still the same, the actual dollar gap between the two has widened from $1,100 to $2,200.

Summary of Economic Facts
The agricultural labor force has shrunk to less than 5 percent of total state employment.
Manufacturing employment in rural areas is increasing rapidly, diversifying away from a former reliance upon textiles and apparel manufacturing as it grows.
Unemployment is lower in rural Georgia than in urban areas. However, underemployment and "disguised" unemployment are believed to be quite high in rural areas, as would-be rural workers either fail to look for jobs or migrate to cities.
Rural incomes have increased faster than those in urban Georgia and the United States as a whole since 1930. Incomes in urban Georgia are now close to the national mean, while those of rural Georgia are about 70 percent of urban.
Regional Patterns
of Rural Development
Trends in agriculture, trade patterns, different land forms and soil types have resulted in distinctive patterns of development in different regions of the state. Economic and population characteristics of the four regions are described below. (See map, p. 13).
The Mountain Region is dominated by the southern reaches of the Appalachians. Of the four regions, the Mountain Region is both the most sparsely populated and most rural. About 70 percent of the region's 626,000 residents lived in rural areas in 1970.

Despite its rural character, however, agriculture is not the dominant economic activity. From 1950 to 1970, agricultural employment plummeted from 25 percent to 7.5 percent of the region's work force and is expected to dip below 5 percent by 1980. During the same period, however, the poultry processing industry has experienced a phenomenal rise. With processing centered in Hall County, poultry and poultry products have become the state's primary agricultural product by dollar sales (more than 30 percent of Georgia's $1.8 billion, according to the 1974 Census of Agriculture).
Manufacturing is by far the dominant force of Mountain Region employment. The region produces more than half the world's tufted carpet, with Dalton as the focal point of activity. Nearly 50 percent (120,000) of the region's workers are employed in manufacturing enterprises, including textiles and apparel manufacturing.
Rural industrialization in the Mountain Region has far outstripped that in the remainder of the state over the past three decades, a trend likely to continue into the future. This phenomenon has contributed significantly to the elevation of personal income and has allowed many to continue to live essentially rural life styles while benefiting from industrial level wages.
The Piedmont Region, a gently rolling to hilly area, is the least rural of the regions under discussion. The Piedmont is dominated by the influences of metropolitan Atlanta, the South's service and transportation center, and secondarily by Athens, the home of the University of Georgia. More than half the state's urban

GEORGIA: Rural Development Regions Coastal Plain Region

population lives in the region, and only 15 percent of the region's 2 million persons live in rural counties.
Because of rapid urbanization, rural development problems in the Piedmont are somewhat different than in other regions. As Atlanta expanded outward, unrestrained by natural barriers, urban problems hit smaller towns, which were isolated from the city before construction of expressways. Metro-area city and county governments have been hard-pressed to provide facilities and services needed for new residents and new industry. Rural-urban fringe problems, and the achievement of orderly transitions from rural to urban life, dominate rural development concerns in the Piedmont.
The Fall Line Region stretches across the state's midsection, straddling the "fall line," the abrupt natural break from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain. Land form ranges from gently rolling to flat. This region was the heart of Georgia's agricultural "black belt," once dominated by "King Cotton." However, it has never completely recovered from cotton's decline and is now characterized by widespread poverty, high percentages of non-white population, low educational levels, and high unemployment rates. The region's three large cities (Columbus, Macon, and Augusta) contribute to a total population of 1 million, and an urban/rural population ratio of 65 percent/35 percent.
During the 1950-70 period, agricultural employment showed a significant decline, from 20 percent to less than 5 percent of total employment. During the same period. manufacturing maintained the same share of

employment (20 percent), while rising in total numbers employed from 66,000 to 102,000.
Government employment showed a dramatic increase from 1950 to 1970, rising from 21 percent to 43 percent. The expansion of Central State Hospital at Milledgeville and the University of Georgia Medical College and complex at Augusta contributed to the growth (from 34,000 to 165,000} in non-military government employment. Military expansion at Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, and Warner Robins Air Force Base also contributed.
Smaller towns and cities throughout the region have experienced gradual declines. Once serving as centers for active agricultural hinterlands, they failed to attract new economic activity to replace agricultural losses. New employment in government is concentrated in a few locations and does not assist in generating economic activity for scattered, declining towns.
For people living in these areas, the employment picture is indeed bleak. As a result, rural poverty cuts deepest in the Fall Line Region. Nine of the state's 13 poorest rural counties (with per capita incomes of less than 60 percent of the state's as a whole) are in this region. An additional 19 rural counties have per capita incomes falling between 60 percent and 75 percent of the state's. Thus, two-thirds of Fall Line Region rural counties are poverty counties (less than 75 percent of state per capita income).
The Coastal Plain Region stretches across the southern third of Georgia, an area of relatively flat land and generally sandy soils in the eastern

portion, richer sedimentary soils in the west. The region has a population of more than 1 million and contains two large cities, Albany and Savannah, as well as several important subregional centers such as Valdosta and Brunswick. The ratio of urban to rural population is fairly even: 47 percent/53 percent.
Agricultural production is an important aspect of the region's economy, although agricultural employment experienced a precipitous decline during the 1950-1970 period from 98,000 to 35,000 (from 35 percent of regional employment to 10 percent). A further decline to 24,000 (6 percent) is projected for 1980. During the same period, the region has undergone a major transformation into a manufacturing-oriented economy. Manufacturing jobs doubled from 1950 to 1970 (46,000 or 17 percent, to 93,000 or 26 percent), with an anticipated 128,000 (29 percent) by 1980. The principal source of new manufacturing jobs has been the apparel industry, with numerous firms having moved into the region in the past three decades.
Despite employment declines, the region's agricultural production leads the state. Nineteen of the state's 30 leading counties in agricultural output are located in the region, with the southwest corner of Georgia setting the pace. The major commodities produced are tobacco, soybeans, other row crops, grains, peanuts, and pecans. Considerable timber for wood pulp and naval stores is produced in the eastern half of the region.
The counties immediately adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean enjoy an environment and economy somewhat distinct from the remainder of the

region. Pulp and paper manufacturing, chemicals, and tourism provide significant employment here. Major military buildups at Fort Stewart and the Kings Bay Submarine Retrofit Base signify rapid, significant economic shifts in the near future, with accompanying population increases and need for more facilities and services in developing areas.
Even with the healthy agricultural and associated business sectors and the addition of manufacturing, poverty remains entrenched in the Coastal Plain Region. Thirty-four of the region's 51 rural counties have per capita incomes falling below 75 percent of the state's as a whole. As in the Fall Line Region, non-white, poorly educated persons comprise the bulk of poverty-ridden citizens here.

Issues And Opportunities

Resource Use

The economy of rural Georgia is highly dependent on use of land, water, timber, minerals, and, to a lesser degree, on cultural resources. The commercial value of crops (peanuts, soybeans, tobacco, corn, and others) sold in 1978 was over $1.1 billion. The commercial value of poultry and livestock was $1.5 billion. The value of forest products was $550 million. In 1977, the value of mineral production was $471 million.
The largest state east of the Mississippi, Georgia has 37.6 million acres (58,000 square miles of land). More than 60 percent is woodland; about 20 percent is cropland. Slightly less than 10 percent is pasture and only 7 percent is built-up, urban land.
Georgia has more than 8 million acres of prime agricultural land*, almost 4 million of which are currently being used for cropland. The remainder is in pasture and woodland. More than one-quarter of the state's prime agricultural land is found in the Piedmont and Fall Line Regions, described earlier. Most is located in the Coastal Plain Region, in a broad strip paralleling the fall line, and reaching from 75 to 125 miles south of it.
Nationwide, loss of prime agricultural land is a problem receiving great attention. However, because most of Georgia's prime agricultural land is below the fall line, where urbanization is not widespread, the problem is not so severe here. In the Piedmont Region, however, where Atlanta and Athens are located, prime farmland is more susceptible
Land which is not subject to severe erosion. with few rocks or stones, with sufficient water-holding capacity, and with soil types suitable for __ ,_, __ -----

to being lost to urbanization.
Agriculture, timber, and urban development all require certain constraints on the use of land. In the Mountain Region, growth is occurring due to the area's attractiveness, proximity to Atlanta, and other factors. Yet heavy rainfall, steep slopes, thin unstable soils, and valley flood plains all cause constraints on development. Inefficient septic systems are a problem in north Georgia growth regions, but construction of sewage collection systems is very expensive due to the mountainous topography.
The Piedmont Region also presents impediments to development. Some Piedmont soils which are poor for septic systems yet good for foundations are nevertheless used for septic systems because of pressures to build homes where no sewers exist. Limesinks are hazards to development in both the northwest and southwest portions of the state. They present severe hazards in urbanized areas such as rapidly growing Albany, where subsidence can damage streets, utilities, and buildings. Limesinks occur when the overlying soil slumps into cavities in the limestone, and occur at a more rapid rate where extensive pumping of the aquifer has occurred. Near the coast, fragile ecosystems such as marsh and dunes are constraints to development and are protected by state legislation.
North of the fall line, the available surface water supply is almost completely consumed by municipal and industrial users. Dalton, for instance, consumes more water than the low water flow on the Cona-
s!lno!ll Ri""'r Tn nnrth ~onrnla C!ur_

face water is managed by storage in reservoirs. To meet current and long-range needs, regional water supply and water treatment questions must be given serious attention.
Below the fall line, water supply is reasonably abundant due to artesian aquifers which underlie most of the region. However, in Brunswick extremely heavy pumpage is causing brackish water intrusion into the aquifer. In other areas, potential for salt water intrusion exists. Farmers in southwest, and now southeast Georgia, are depending more and more on irrigation in order to increase per acre production yields and in response to recent drought conditions. The center pivot irrigation system, which is being used with greater frequency in southwest Georgia, withdraws six to 10 gallons per minute, per acre irrigated. (Depending on acreage irrigated, withdrawal averages around 1,0001,500 gallons per minute.) In certain areas, where groundwater is limited, withdrawal of this amount can have significant detrimental effects on the water table.
Since the 1930's, many water resource development projects have brought economic benefits to both rural and urban areas of the state. Water impoundments, such as Lake Lanier and Walter F. George Reservoir, provide hydropower, flood control, water supply, and recreation benefits.
Extractive and mineral manufacturing industries are important in some rural counties (such as Wilkinson and Washington), supplying a significant number of jobs and much of the tax base. Georgia leads the nation in production of granite,
18

clays, kaolin and fuller's earth, and also has important deposits of marble, coal, sand and gravel, and titanium and other heavy minerals.
Other natural and cultural resources also have commercial value for the state's rural population. The annual value of animals trapped for fur is approximately $2 million, creating an important second source of income for many rural residents.
The same is true of the ginseng crop, with an annual export value of about $3 million. The shrimping industry earns about $11 million (dockside value) annually, making it an important source of income in Mcintosh and other rural coastal counties.
Historic and archaeological sites and state parks and recreation areas now attract tourists and state residents and have potential for expansion which is still untapped (Darien waterfront; St. Mary's waterfront and Cumberland Island National Seashore; Westville and the Providence Canyon State Park area; Appalachian arts and crafts in the Mountain Region).
Issues:
1) Faced with both growing cities and towns and increasing worldwide demands for food, there are no means to direct urban growth or agricultural expansion to lands best suited for each.
In response to the 1974 energy crisis, controls on agricultural production were lifted to encourage farmers to produce for export and thus assist in improving U.S. balance of payments. Since 1974, an additional 1 million acres in Georgia have been put into

cropland (largely for export purposes], revising a trend of decreasing agricultural acreage. As petroleum prices increase, demands for agricultural exports to help the balance of payments will increase. No method now exists, however, to ensure that new acreage put into production is prime agricultural land, although most prime agricultural soils have been identified by the Soil Conservation Service.
Nationwide, the value of timber products is increasing along with the demand for greater timber yields. Despite the fact that 93 percent of Georgia's 25 million acres of forest land is in private and industry ownership, the commonly-held perception is that tomorrow's demand for timber should be met from publicly owned lands. Yet in Georgia, this small segment (7 percent) of the resource is the only portion which must also be used for other purposes such as recreation and hunting.
Georgia can be expected to contribute an increasingly greater share of timber to the paper products industry in the future, contributing significantly to rural economic development. However, considering the economic potential of crop production, forest products, and urban uses, competition for use of land can also be expected to increase.
Moreover, many growing cities and small communities as well as federal and state agencies do not consider development constraints, best uses of prime agricultural land, or regional or statewide needs when funding growth support facilities such as highways and water and sewer pipelines.
2) Conversion of land from one use to another leads to strains

19

on the environment if sound development practices are not followed. Some environmental impacts are unavoidable when changes in land use occur.
Mountains and river banks are prime locations for vacation homes and commercial recreation attractions; yet, there are no means to ensure that wise development practices are followed on mountain slopes, river floodplains, and freshwater wetlands. In addition, land disturbing activities of timbering and agriculture are exempted from existing state legislation which protects rivers and streams from nonpoint source pollution.
Conversion of prime agricultural land from timber production to cropland is expected to accelerate in the coming years, but unless soil conserving practices are followed, valuable topsoil may end up as sediment in the rivers and streams of the state.
3} Property taxation may affect use of land by forcing conversion of farm land, timber land, or undeveloped land to urbanized or other uses in a sometimes unsatisfactory or untimely manner.
In the opinion of some experts, tax rate structures tend to force the sale of agricultural land on the ruralurban fringe, especially by small farmers who cannot afford to compete with the highly mechanized methods used by corporate farms. The small farmer cannot make sufficient income to pay higher tax rates which are brought on by rising land values.
Current methods of taxing timber acreage make it difficult for the

small timber producer to pay his property taxes during those years when timber is maturing and not ready for harvest.
Faced with rising production and equipment costs, higher land values and taxes, and low farm product prices, some farmers are selling portions of their land to subsidize operations, or selling and leaving farming altogether.
Foreign purchase of Georgia land is also an issue: in one 18-month period in 1977-78, more than 57,000 acres of Georgia farm land were sold to foreign investors. According to results of a survey announced early in 1980 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Georgia is one of the three southern states in which onefourth of all foreign purchases are concentrated.
4} State geologists do not have a complete picture of the groundwater resource available in aquifers underlying the southern portion of the state, yet availability of groundwater and the economic feasibility of extracting it, is information important to industry seeking to locate in the state and to farmers who are converting in
increasing numbers to use of
center pivot irrigation systems.
Although agricultural use of groundwater is currently exempt from the state's Groundwater Use Act, ongoing groundwater use surveys may support the argument that this rapidly increasing use of the finite groundwater resource needs to be brought under regulation.
It has been estimated that, if all the existing irrigation systems in one 20-county area of southwest Georgia

20

were turned on at the same time, 1.3 billion gallons a day would be withdrawn from the aquifer. No one knows what effect this would have on the groundwater resource, but it could be disastrous. A five-year study recently funded by the state, with some U.S. Geological Survey assistance, is designed to get more information on the aquifer.
5] North of the fall line, the surface water resource is now being used to near its maximum capacity. Limited water supplies could inhibit future population and economic growth.
In the Mountain and Piedmont Regions of the state, rivers and streams serve a dual purpose. They provide municipal drinking water and water for industrial processing, and they also receive and disperse treated wastewater. Population and industrial growth in smaller rural communities (in addition to growth in larger urban areas) will produce increased volumes of industrial and municipal sewage for discharge into rivers, whose assimilative capacity is already overtaxed. Limited water supplies could inhibit expansion of water-using industries such as the production of tufted textiles and poultry processing. Water supply alternatives, such as construction of new reservoirs and changes in regulations affecting use of existing supplies, are controversial and not acceptable to a broad spectrum of the general public.
6] Development of water resources in rural areas in order to obtain the economic benefits of electric power generation, water supply, and recreation and tourism, is meeting
21

increasingly strong resistance from those who believe the costs to the taxpayer and the damage to the environment far outweigh the economic benefits attributed to these projects.
Lake Lanier, the nation's most widely used man-made lake, has been an economic boon to the rural counties of northeast Georgia because of its proximity to metropolitan Atlanta. However, when similar projects are located at a great distance from urban centers, they are not as economically successful. Demographic and geographic constraints may mean that projects other than water resource developments offer better opportunities for economic growth.

Economic Development and Job Creation

The economy of rural Georgia is no longer dependent solely upon agriculture and agriculture-related activities. A dramatic increase in rural, non-agricultural employment has both raised the standard of living of rural residents and made it possible for many of them to find jobs without having to migrate to large cities.

finds itself faced with new issues as a result of current directions of economic development. Problems have not disappeared; they have simply been replaced by new ones.

Rural industrial development is strongly supported, indeed promoted, by state government. While about half of the capital investment in new manufacturing facilities between 1970-78 was located in counties of more than 50,000 population, efforts to steer new industries to rural counties have also met with success. In the same period, 18 percent of the capital investment in manufacturing facilities was located in counties with up to 15,000 population; 16 percent in counties with 15,000 to 30,000; and 15 percent in counties with 30,000 to 50,000 population. Rural areas are sharing in the growth of the state's economy.
As rural Georgia's economy continues to emerge from its agricultural roots, numerous new problems and issues must be faced. "Distressed" counties, having low incomes and significant unemployment problems, want to bring in new industry to solve serious, immediate problems. Communities which have experienced some economic growth may need to diversify their industrial bases to avoid extreme economic fluctuations which result from overdependence on one economic sector. Underemployment and lack of variety in job opportunities affect many rural areas, though low unemployment figures often mask these oroblems. In short. rural Georl!ia

The following issues are among those which Georgia's rural communities must face as further economic development takes place. The list is by no means comprehensive, but does highlight some of the more common and most crucial concerns.
Issues:
1) Lack of clear developmental policies for the state leads to confusion and poor coordination among federal, state, and local development efforts.
Rural economic development is occurring unevenly. Certain areas are growing rapidly, while others lag behind, leaving their residents with few employment opportunities. Should further development be encouraged in developing areas, which have shown an ability to grow, or in non-developing areas in need of economic stimulation? Should residents in stagnating areas be encouraged to migrate or should job opportunities be created where thev live?

'-
:~~~~ ':~~ -'
State policy has been to decentralize and distribute new growth throughout the state, assuring rural, as well as urban, economic expansion. Federal government emphasis appears to be shifting in favor of creation of jobs in "distressed areas," those experiencing either no growth or even decline, and having high unemployment rates. Most localities want growth and development, although few know exactly what types of growth and development they want, and which they would rather avoid or minimize.
Rural areas now experiencing growth are in need of the facilities to accommodate development. To fund infrastructure (sewers, roads, water systems, etc.) in distressed areas to encourage economic growth may: (1) deprive growing places of these facilities; and (2) run the risk of wasting funds should new development fail to occur in distressed places.
2} Most rural communities equate economic development with attraction of new manufacturing firms. Very little consideration is given to other forms of economic development. More emphasis may be needed on
24

non-manufacturing expansion

arriving. Should more rapid

and addition.

unionization be encouraged or

Attracting outside industry preoccupies most rural communities want-

discouraged as a matter of public policy?

ing economic development and new In the past, much industry has

jobs. In many cases, outside indus- located in the South to avoid union

tries locate in rural areas primarily labor and much industrial growth in

to take advantage of relatively

rural areas can be traced to this

cheap, non-union labor. This factor factor. Should unionization now be

is rarely questioned, nor is much

encouraged more than in the past,

attention paid to other types of

under the assumption that workers

economic growth which might be

would benefit, or should unions be

more easily accommodated or for

discouraged for fear they might

which the area might be more

chase off existing industries and

suitable.

dampen the prospects for future

Many rural communities could

industrial locations?

benefit from expansion of existing

4) Underemployment has long

industry or from a variety of other

been a problem in rural areas.

economic activities: from small busi

Simply stated, underemploy-

ness development; from growth of

ment is employment below

the tourism sector; from expansion

one's abilities, skills, and level

of retail trade activities; or from

of educational attainment. How

expansion of agricultural production

best to deal with the underem-

and associated support industries

ployment problem should be a

and food processing. Most rural

matter of utmost concern for

communities would benefit from

rural educators, as well as

receiving assistance in understand-

economic developers.

ing economic development alterna- Underemployment is a major cause

tives most suited to their needs and of migration from rural to urban

their human and other resources. Unfortunately, few have the exper-

areas, where individuals can find job and career opportunities unavailable

tise to analyze their economies and economic potentials. Some are

back home. Underemployment has been a prime motivator in the migra-

unaware of alternatives to industrial tion of brighter, more promising

expansion, although these alterna- rural youth to urban areas, depleting

tives may well fit development

the supply of future rural commun-

desires and resources more ade-

ity leaders and entrepreneurs. Solv-

quately than manufacturing addition ing the underemployment problems

or expansion. Outside assistance in must necessarily include the creation

assessing local economies, as well as in trying to attract new industries, is

of more and better jobs in rural areas.

needed from the state and areawide

(Area Planning and Development

5) Underestimation of unemploy-

Commission) levels.

ment may also be a problem in

rural areas.

3) Unionization of industry in the

state, especially outside the

Unemployment may in fact be

urban centers, has been slow in underestimated in some rural coun-

25

ties where residents find it difficult to travel to the nearest Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) office. While DOL attempts to locate offices within 20 miles of every citizen, offices cannot be maintained in every county. Some persons living in outlying places thus may not apply for jobs which are available, and economic development efforts can be hampered by undercounting of the available work force.
6} Most rural areas are not economically diversified. With most employment concentrated in a very few industries. the local economy is vulnerable to ups and downs of these industries to a greater extent than are areas with better "industrial mixes" (employment spread through several industries} . Should rural areas try to grow without consideration given to diversification?
Although rural Georgia's overall economy is diversifying and starting to resemble a balanced, urban economy, individual rural communities and areas remain largely dependent on one or two industries as mainstays of the local economy. Even rural areas whose economies are growing find expansion occurring in a select few industrial groups. To "iron out" economic fluctuation in rural economies, local communities must attempt to diversify. Unfortunately, once a local economy starts in a certain direction, the tendency is towards intensification of past trends, rather than a diversification and balancing of the industrial and overall economic mix.
26

Downtown Revitalization

From the 1920s to the 1960s, when many rural residents were migrating to the larger cities, commercial activity in small rural towns was also shifting. The loss of small farms, mechanization of agriculture and loss of agricultural employment, improvements in county roads and the state highway system, and improvements in communication all served to decrease the economic importance of many small towns.
By the 1960s many small town central business districts were in decline. Their physical plants were old and often poorly maintained. Many downtown property owners were either elderly, had moved away, or had died leaving their property in an estate for absentee heirs. Many downtown merchants had either gone out of business or were behind the times because of failure to keep abreast with modern merchandizing techniques. The advent of regional shopping centers, spurred by highway expansion, further eroded the viability of downtown business districts.

more competition from highway commercial districts, regional shopping centers, and the variety offered by retail centers in larger cities made more accessible by improved highways.
Revitalized business districts in smaller communities can contribute in many ways to the economic and aesthetic well-being of rural counties. The downtown can be a central place, providing retail and professional services within a minimum travel distance, contributing to fuel savings at a time when costs of gasoline and travel are increasing

Beginning in the late 1960s, conditions began to change. Migration trends began to reverse themselves nationally. The Southeast began to show a small migration gain relative to the Northeast. Small towns throughout the nation began to gain population relative to large cities. In Georgia, a 20-year effort to attract new industry began to pay off. Rural industrialization created both increased rural markets and increased rural leadership.
The state's smaller downtown areas are attempting to improve their viability. They benefit from regional affluence and higher educational levels, but at the same time suffer from

exponentially. Older downtown business districts represent enormous "sunk costs" in both public and private investments. Duplications of these investments in other locations can be expensive and inefficient. Moreover, older downtown areas represent historical, cultural and institutional "roots" for many rural citizens.
Locally-owned and managed businesses tend to predominate in older business districts. Therefore viable downtown areas help assure that

27

profits Irom retail sales remain in the community and are reinvested locally. On the other hand, chain and franchise operations predominate in larger shopping centers. These operations funnel profits back to their home offices, rather than into the local economy.
Issues
1) Decisions made by national corporations, by state agencies, and by county and municipal elected officials often have negative impacts on the vitality of small downtown business districts. These decisions sometimes have the effect of increasing competition for downtown business districts, to their detriment, by supporting retail activities in outlying shopping areas.
For example, location and design of urban bypass routes and location of water and sewer pipelines can support development of outlying highway commercial strips. Decisions to zone highway property for shopping centers can be detrimental to downtown business districts.
Major retail chains often decide to close small downtown stores to ensure markets for a few larger stores located in regional shopping centers. Some national chains also have a policy of relocating from downtown areas to regional shopping centers whenever the opportunity arises. For instance, to avoid encouraging competition, one movie theater chain refuses to sell its many vacant downtown theaters for reuse as movie theaters, but sells only when the buildings are to be demolished or converted to other uses. The above are examples of actions which

adversely affect downtown areas, but over which shop owners individually have no control.
In the next few years, regional shopping centers will provide increasingly severe competition. As the major cities become saturated with regional malls, developers will move into the smaller market areas. Outlying shopping centers are presently being developed in Savannah, Athens, and LaGrange, and will be developed in Rome and other towns in the near future.
2) Downtown business areas can suffer from both increased population and from stable or declining population in their market areas.
When population increases, the new and larger market often generates new business opportunities outside the downtown area which contribute to the decline of older business areas. When population decreases or remains stable, little incentive for revitalization exists since it is unlikely to result in an increased market. However, in the latter case, increased affluence and mobility can result in an increased market, even though population remains stable.
3) Most of Georgia's existing downtown areas were platted in the era 1820-80, and most of the existing buildings were constructed in the 1880-1920 era.
Buildings are usually deep, narrow and multistoried. Streets and parking are sometimes inadequate to handle present traffic. Age and condition of physical plant often lead to high maintenance and utility bills. In some cases, marginally-conceived modernization projects have com-

28

promised the original architectural aesthetics.
During the last three decades, land costs, construction costs, shopping trends, and federal tax policy have favored new construction on raw land. In the near future, however, this situation is expected to change. The competitive advantages of older commercial areas are expected to improve because construction costs have greatly increased, and the value of raw land has increased, while values of existing commercial land have remained stable. Changes in federal tax policy and increased fuel c'osts are expected to enhance the competitive edge of existing downtown business areas relative to outlying shopping centers.
In spite of these factors favoring revitalization, downtown centers still face stiff competition from the well organized shopping center industry. Downtown business districts wishing to revitalize must consider a new balance of uses, including a different retail mix (antique stores and coin shops instead of women's clothing, for instance), and a wider variety of

professional services, banking, insurance, institutional, cultural, office and government uses.
4} Successful redevelopment efforts have wide local support, are long-term, spend large amounts of money obtained from a variety of sources, are multifaceted and enjoy capable leadership. Understandably, it is difficult to maintain sufficient commitment, money, skills, and leadership over the long period of time necessary to achieve redevelopment.
Property owners are often complacent, or are dubious about the success of redevelopment programs. Local government has other problems to deal with and may be reluctant to put s.pecial emphasis on one group of people. Unlike a shopping center, the COD cannot inherently control architectural design, product, service mix, internal circulation, business hours, and advertising. Rather, a redevelopment program must prove itself to benefit the public and individual businessmen.

29

Transportation

Mobility is a basic requirement for improving the quality of life and encouraging development of any community, urban or rural. With adequate transportation, a person can choose the activities or opportunities in which to participate, and without transportation there is little choice and therefore little opportunity.
Of 2 million miles of local rural roads nationwide, about half are rated "intolerable" by states, using federal standards. In spite of this, the federal Department of Transportation recently reassessed secondary road systems, making one-third of all rural roads ineligible for federal assistance. The State of Georgia has more than 40,000 miles of road still unpaved, many thousands of miles in need of repairs, and some towns in need of highways to provide quick, direct access to major cities.
Yet roads are not the only problem. Rural residents who can afford decent cars, and the rising cost of gasoline, are not significantly handicapped by their location outside of urban centers. But the rural poor, who cannot afford efficient automobiles, suffer a distinct disadvantage. While the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) was created to provide special programs and funding for cities, no rural mass transit agency exists to give special attention to the needs of rural Americans.
A new program enacted in Section 18 of the Surface Transportation Act of 1978 does make funding available, through UMTA, for purchase, operation, and maintenance of vehicles for limited rural mass transit. However, because of problems concerning liability of the sponsoring group, few

small communities may be willing or able to take on the financial risk of participating; and several states (not including Georgia) have already refused to participate.
Tremendous difficulties are involved in addressing the needs of small cities and rural areas. There are no masses to be served by public transportation. In a typical rural county the population is scattered. Trips are generally longer; destinations are regional centers where medical services, education, shopping, and employment can be found; and trips are generally necessary, not recreational in nature.
Despite the fact that fewer rural residents own cars, most trips are, of necessity, by private automobile. The poor, handicapped, and elderly are hardest hit by the lack of alternative travel opportunities; and many families, while not exactly poor, own only one car. When that vehicle is needed by the breadwinner to get to work, the rest of the family becomes transportationdisadvantaged.
Transportation needs in both rural and urban areas are growing. According to Georgia Department of Transportation projections, made early in 1978, our highways must be prepared for a 50 percent increase in traffic by 1990; airports, for a 270 percent increase by 1993; and railways and ports must keep up with a 20 percent increase in shipping needs each year. Given adequate transportation for both people and goods, much new economic growth may occur in rural areas. Although current federal efforts ultimately reach a small percentage of the rural population and are a "drop in the bucket" in meeting total needs, they

30

are a beginnning and should provide some programs upon which to build.
Issues
l} With longer distances to travel and lower average incomes, rural persons suffer a distinct disadvantage as gasoline prices go higher and higher. Transportation problems in rural areas will be intensified if gas rationing becomes a reality.
The automobile is now, and will continue to be, the major mode of transportation in rural areas. Rural mass transit is virtually nonexistent in rural Georgia. Railroads no longer provide passenger service between small communities and larger cities. Everyone is dependent on the automobile. Without one, it is difficult to hold a job. Yet the rural poor and elderly, who are more likely to live in isolated areas, are least able to afford to own and operate automobiles. About onethird of rural residents with incomes below $5,000 do not own cars. Those who can buy cars buy older models, which consume more gas than newer, smaller cars.
2} The handicapped and the elderly are the most severely disadvantaged by rural transportation deficiencies. Even where public transportation is available it is often inaccessible to these groups.
Although transportation and social

service agencies attempt to meet the special needs of the elderly and handicapped, only the tip of the iceberg has been touched. Transportation for needed medical services, shopping trips, and even some cultural or social activities is provided by community action and social agencies for the lucky few, but the large percentage is still isolated and dependent upon family or friends. Even those who do have some transportation service available to them are severely limited in their activitiess. A demonstration van pooling program is being initiated in several coastal counties. Whether van pooling will work is not yet known.
3} Public transportation to rural communities has dramatically decreased over the last few years. The trend continues as rail, air, and bus service providers request to abandon or decrease service to small towns.
National statistics show that in the past eight years, 1,800 small communities have lost intercity bus service; 114 have lost air service; and 24,000 miles of passenger railway lines have been abandoned. The picture in rural Georgia is similar to the national trend. In the first eight months of 1977, 164 bus stops to rural communities were eliminated. Rail and air service have also suffered cutbacks.
The entire economy of a community can be affected when public transportation services for passengers or freight are cut back or discontinued. The community can lose existing industry, and is no longer attractive for new business and industry.
4} Rural economic development is

31

closely related to availabilit) of transportation. New highways are also the subject of intense controversy and some times meet opposition on both environmental and costeffective grounds.
An analysis of growth centers outside metro areas in Georgia shows an unmistakably high correlation between highway access and measurable economic growth. Developmental highways would be a definite boon to some areas of the state which are now some distance from the Interstate highways.
No direct transportation link now exists between Columbus, Macon, and Augusta. A multi-modal corridor from Brunswick through Waycross, Albany, and Columbus to Kansas City would open up the Coastal Plain Region for development and has been in the conceptual stage for quite some time. A more realistic probability in the near future is construction of a four lane highway connecting these south Georgia cities. Yet new highway construction can run into tough opposition from environmentalists and others convinced that the costs (both monetary and environmental) are not worth the projected benefits. This situation is most dramatically illustrated in the controversy surrounding the proposed extension of Georgia 400 through north Georgia.

Energy Use and Conservation

Rising gasoline prices and high utility bills confront residents of rural and urban places. Rising energy costs are particularly burdensome for residents of rural Georgia, where the housing stock is more often below standard andwhere public transportation is virtually nonexistent, making energy conservation a critical concern.
Statewide, one-third of the energy used is petroleum. The bulk of this is used by the transportation sector. The same is true in rural areas where agriculture is becoming increasingly mechanized and is highly dependent on petroleum supplies.
Statewide, the residential sector relies primarily on natural gas. Twothirds of all homes are heated by natural gas. In rural areas, however, where sparse population densities do not justify the h igh cost of laying gas pipelines, only one-third of the residential units use natural gas for heating. Another one-third use tank or propane gas, and the remainder rely on wood (10 percent); fuel oil, kerosene, coal (10 percent); and electricity (10 percent).

ties of energy. Lumber drying, stone and clay processing, pulp and paper, textiles, and food processing all need large quantities of process heat. Crop drying uses one-third to onehalf of the total BTUs of energy used in agriculture production. Costs of fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides-all derived from petroleum-are rising. Agricultural production is also dependent on products derived from petroleum: herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. The cost and availability of these basic agricultural chemicals is tied closely to cost and availability of petroleum.
Issues
1} Energy costs are high for homes in many rural areas because homes were not constructed to be energy-efficient. High utility bills are particularly burdensome for the elderly and poor.
Much of the existing rural housing stock (both private and public) was constructed prior to the present

Natural gas is the cheapest fuel source for homes, costing an average $2 per million BTUs (British Thermal Units, a measure of heat). Propane is somewhat more expensive, costing about $3.25 per million BTUs. For those 10 percent of rural families dependent on electricity, the cost can be excessively high, averaging $10.60 per million BTU's.

Availability of natural gas is a major factor in location and growth of some industries located in smaller cities and towns. Agricultural processing also consumes large quanti-

energy crunch and lacks insulation, storm windows, and efficient central heating. Some low-cost homes are poorly constructed; others were built prior to required federal housing standards. In the more moderate climate of the southern half of the state many homes were built to meet outmoded heating methods which are no longer satisfactory to some people today. Space or wall heaters, which once served to take the chill off the air on colder winter days, are overworked and inefficient for today's standards of comfort. In some public housing projects built in south Georgia prior to the energy crunch, utility charges in the winter months can exceed monthly rent by a factor of from 2 to 8. (Example: rent-$25; January electric bill-$200.)
In public housing, the problem is compounded by: tenants lack of understanding of the relationship between turning up the thermostat and paying the electric bill; federal subsidies given (in some cases] to offset utility rates, thereby subsidizing inefficient energy practices by both tenants and management; and lack of funds to make necessary improvements in central heating and insulation.
2) Energy costs are high for some
rural r.esidents because the natural gas pipeline network does not extend to sparsely populated rural areas nor to smaller rural communities, and they must depend on other sources
of energy for heating and
cooking.
Propane, electricity, and kerosene are all more expensive than natural gas, yet the rural poor and elderly who must frequently depend on these sources are least able to pay
34

the higher costs.
3) Natural gas availability is a key requirement for location of industry. Non-availability will deter an industry from locating in an area whose residents would benefit from increased employment opportunities.
In the Southeast Georgia APDC area, for instance, all new industry coming to the area in the last few years has located in Douglas and Alma, where natural gas is available.
If natural gas becomes less available or more expensive in the future, some industries already located in small towns (tufted textiles, soybean processing, lumber drying) may need to consider alternate sources of energy, such as solar power.
4} Using non-traditional energy technologies is a good solution for some rural energy problems. However, new sophisticated technology sometimes requires a large initial capital outlay and a service infrastructure not generally found in smaller rural cities and towns.
Methane generators, wood gasifiers, and active solar collection and distribution systems for industrial heating processes are examples of energy technologies which are gaining wider acceptance. Gasohol production is also becoming more popular as a method of both conserving energy and expanding use of agricultural products.
As conventional energy costs increase, new technology will become more cost competitive. A microwave (MIVAC) drying system, for instance, removes moisture from peanuts at a substantially faster rate

than conventional crop drying methods. In 1973, the MIVAC cost $2.50 per watt; the cost is now $.35 per watt, and engineers predict that it will soon be as low as $.05 per watt.
5} Using decentralized, appropriate energy technologies is a good solution for energy problems of both homes and agribusiness. However, education and technical assistance are needed to provide expertise to homeowners, farmers, agricultural processors, and manufacturers.
The public image of appropriate technology needs to be enhanced to include understanding of both residential and industrial applications. For instance, solar drying methods can be used for crops such as lumber, peanuts, and grain, as well as for tobacco curing and soybean processing. Attached solar greenhouses used for heat and for home gardens are not technically complex and are inexpensive to build. Simple and inexpensive solar hot water heaters can also be constructed using recycled materials.

35

Housing

Across the nation, housing costs are rising at a faster rate than family income. Rising construction costs and interest rates cause problems for a great many of the state's citizens, but they only serve to intensify the problems of securing decent housing for families in rural Georgia, who tend to have lower incomes, are more often elderly or black, and are more likely to be living in substandard housing than their urban counterparts.
Some rural families are living in small, overcrowded, dilapidated shacks, on dirt roads, isolated from towns and cities, water and sewer lines, schools, health services, jobs. Most of these ramshackle dwellings have no central heat, no foundations, and are raised on bricks or cinder blocks. They have sagging porches, patched roofs, no insulation, and cracks between the boards where the winter wind and summer flies come in. Some have bad wiring and no indoor plumbing.
An astonishing proportion of the total housing units in rural Georgia are substandard.* Two out of every three substandard housing units in the state are located in rural Georgia.
In 1970, more than 50 percent of the housing was substandard in three rural counties of the Fall Line Region (Talbot, Hancock and Jenkins), and
'"Substandard'' is defined as lacking complete plumbing or being in a dilapidated condition. The Bureau of the Census applies probability values to five factors which tend to contribute to dilapidation: (1} rental or value cut-off; (2} single or multi-family unit; (3} education of head of household; (4} more than 1.01 persons per room; (5} incomplete heating facilities.

one county of the Piedmont Region (Pike). In another 44 rural counties, 30 to 50 percent of the housing was substandard. The preponderance of rural substandard housing is concentrated in the Fall Line Region, the area most severely impacted historically by a decline in agricultural employment, and the area most heavily populated by blacks.
Rural black families suffer even more from inadequate housing, due to both low income levels and historical discrimination. Statewide in 1970, 22 percent of all households were black, yet 47 percent of all inadequate housing units were occupied by blacks. The highest percentages of inadequate housing units occupied by blacks were in the rural counties of the Fall Line Region, the western portion of the Coastal Plain Region, and the counties on the southern fringe of the Piedmont Region. In one county (Talbot) more than 90 percent of inadequate housing was occupied by blacks. In seven counties, blacks occupied more than 80 percent of the inadequate housing; and in another 72 counties (nearly half the counties in Georgia), blacks occupied more than 50 percent of the inadequate housing.
The elderly (older than 65) in rural areas are more likely to be living in substandard housing than their urban counterparts. In 1970, the lowest percentages of substandard housing occupied by the elderly were in the metropolitan areas in Atlanta and Macon. Those counties in which the elderly occupied more than one-third of the substandard housing were, without exception, rural counties. In five rural counties (Clay, Franklin, Green, Oglethorpe, and Taliaferro) at least 40 percent of

36

the substandard housing was occupied by the elderly. Low fixed incomes, which are severely affected by inflation and inability to work, make it especially difficult for the elderly to secure adequate housing.
Obviously, the greatest proportion of substandard housing in rural areas is occupied by individuals and families with very low incomes, because income is a main determinant of ability to acquire decent housing. In 1970, more than 80,000 rural families with incomes of under $4,000 lived in substandard housing. Only 5,000 families with incomes above $15,000 lived in substandard housing in rural areas.
As might be expected, those families with incomes so low they cannot afford to purchase houses are in the worst position. In 1970, more than one-third of the substandard housing units in rural areas of the state were rental units. Some of these units rent for as little as $8 to $30 a month, have outdoor toilets with inadequate septic systems, and outside water spigots shared with five or six other families. Based on low incomes and increasing costs of purchasing homes, persons now renting will probably need to continue to rely on rental housing.
Statewide in 1970, one-half of the substandard housing units were renter-occupied, single family dwellings; about 10 percent were renteroccupied, multi-family dwellings. The remaining 40 percent were owner-occupied, single family homes. In rural areas, where the housing stock is predominantly single family and the lifestyle is centered around the single family detached unit, an even higher percentage of the substandard renter-
37

and owner-occupied units were single family.
A growing source of housing for rural families with low to moderate incomes is mobile homes, which can be purchased for as little as $10,000, but build up little equity and depreciate more rapidly than conventional homes. No exact figures are available, but the manufactured housing industry estimates that mobile homes currently constitute between one-half and two-thirds of new housing stock in rural Georgia. Unfortunately, location of mobile homes in some places is highly restricted and in others is not regulated sufficiently to provide adequate minimum standards. Mobile home parks are often poorly located, obsolete, and inefficiently managed; yet mobile homes are the only homes which many lower income families can afford.
Issues
1} Housing costs are rising faster than household income, making it more difficult for rural (ami-

JJes to rent or purchase adequate housing. Since black families generally have lower incomes than white families, the rising cost of housing is an even greater problem for black families.
In non-metropolitan areas of the South, costs of new homes jumped 47.6 percent between 1970 and 1975, and rents rose 45.7 percent. Considering the increasingly high inflation rate since those statistics were gathered, it is safe to assume that the cost of homes has increased even more in the last five years.
2} Mortgage financing available for rural areas tends to be more restrictive than for urban areas. Moreover, the lower incomes of many rural families makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to qualify for mortgage loans.
Many financial institutions in rural areas do not participate in the lower interest rate programs of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA)

38

which service primarily urban areas. Lower priced homes are generally financed by these programs. However, the small numbers of potential lenders makes it difficult for the rural home-buyer to shop around for better credit terms. In rural areas the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) operates programs that provide favorable financing. The Georgia Residential Finance Authority (GRFA) is also required to provide 40 percent of its loans in non-metro areas, but its loans must be made through FHA and VA approved lenders.
Conventional loan sources are more frequently relied on in rural areas, meaning a 10-20 percent greater down payment, higher interest rates, and shorter payment terms. (Nationwide, non-metro mortgage lengths are 20 percent shorter than mortgages for homes in metro areas.)
3) The requirements of federal housing assistance and community development programs are sometimes inappropriate and burdensome to the fiscal and staff capabilities of small rural communities and to the market realities of sparsely populated areas. Small rural communities lack delivery mechanisms such as housing authorities, non-profit corporations, and large development corporations with expertise in dealing wtih federal programs.
The insufficient number of unit allocations at a small town level, combined with "set-asides" for the elderly and handicapped, sometimes makes it impossible for a developer to put together a federally assisted project in a rural town or county. Financial feasibility of housing

developments is difficult to ensure because market demand is generally restricted (by income and population) to a smaller number of units.
Some local governments, small nonprofit corporations and developers in rural (and urban) areas lack the expertise and the patience to deal with complex, overlapping, and conflicting regulations of various federal programs, especially when assistance from two or more federal programs is involved.
Federal housing assistance money is sometimes under-used and returned to the federal treasury (for instance, FmHA Section 504 housing rehabilitation funds) because the availability of the funds is not well publicized; and forms are very long, complicated and frustrating to clients trying to complete them. The FmHA does have local offices to assist clients, although the offices are somewhat understaffed; and county representatives in the southern half of the state have been overwhelmed during the past few years with requests for emergency farm drought assistance. Utilization of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs by rural clients is further hampered by the remote urban location of federal offices and by the urban orientation of HUD housing assistance programs.
Site selection criteria (water and sewer, racial mix, percentage elderly and handicapped, proximity of retail and other services) and subdivision criteria are often not suited to the needs of small rural communities. Planning update requirements, paper processing requirements, and financial requirements are sometimes impossible for part-time staff of

39

rural governments to meet.
4) Mobile homes ore on increasingly important component of the total housing market because of their low cost. However, their more extensive use is hindered in several ways.
Some federal housing assistance and insurance programs which are available for mobile homes are underutilized or not funded by Congress. Certain federal mobile home requirements (e.g., for sewers) may be inappropriate for rural areas. In some places in Georgia, zoning laws and mobile home ordinances have virtually eliminated mobile homes from the more desirable locations without providing adequate alternatives such as ordinances which ensure attractive, well-planned settings. Many citizens and local officials view mobile homes as undesirable, partially because they are taxed at a depreciating rate and revenue received by the county or municipality tends to be insufficient to cover the cost of community services (including education) provided to mobile home residents.
5) While the past decodes have generally shown a decline in rural population growth, the 1970-80 decode is expected to show a significant increase in population growth rate. Population growth means a greater demand for decent housing in rural Georgia over the coming years, to meet both losses in the housing stock and increases in numbers of families needing housing.
Yet the major thrust of federal ~rograms (with the notable exceptiOn of FmHA) has been in urban

areas, where there is also greater financial capacity (both private and public), a more diversified market demand, and more construction and professional resources for the poor to draw upon.
Estimates made in 1975 indicated that about half (295,000) of the new units needed by 1980 to replace substandard units, to replace possible losses from fire and other disasters, and to provide for population growth needed to be located in rural counties of the state.

40

Community facilities and Services

Some small towns in Georgia are able to provide adequate community facilities and services for all their citizens and also have sufficient water and sewage capacity to allow for residential and industrial expansion. Residents in these communities are fortunate to have access to a central and safe drinking water supply, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, approved solid waste disposal areas, adequate fire and police protection, good roads, and recreation and health care facilities.
Other communities and isolated neighborhoods are not so fortunate. Based on census data, in 1970 only 35 percent of Georgia's 580,000 rural households were connected to central-public or private-sewage disposal facilities. Almost 45 percent of rural housing units used individual, below-ground sewage disposal (septic tanks or cesspools). Almost 20 percent used other methods. (The U.S. Census does not define what is meant by "other methods". It is assumed that outhouses and other primitive methods are included in this category.)

some isolated poor (usually black) neighborhoods which are included in neither the central sewage collection nor water supply systems of adjacent communities.
Although not nearly as severe a problem as sewage disposal, access to safe drinking water can also pose a problem for rural residents.
In one low-income neighborhood outside the city limits of a municipality along the eastern border of Georgia, the city furnishes water through a four inch main. The water distribution system is composed mainly of connections and service lines installed by individual owners or landlords. The result is a patchwork of "spaghetti tubing" that leaves the system open to infiltrated or contaminated water, low pressure, negligible (if any} fire protection, and a repulsive appearance.

When homes are scattered and soil characteristics are suitable, use of individual septic tanks rather than expensive sewage collection systems is appropriate. However, when housing units are clustered in confined areas and septic tanks do not meet minimum health requirements, seepage can occur and cause health problems. Need for adequate central sewage disposal facilities is a particularly severe problem in the coastal area where the subsurface water table is very high: in rural areas facing very rapid population growth (Fort Stewart, Kings Bay): and for

In 1970, more than 55 percent of rural households had connections to a public or private water supply and more than 40 percent used individual wells. However, 2 percent still used other sources of water such as springs, creeks, and rivers. While a large majority of rural households

41

are connected to a public water supply system, water quality in the smaller systems (serving fewer than 25 people or operating under 60 days a year) is not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Public rural water systems which are monitored monthly under the Safe Drinking Water Act for presence of fecal coliform and other pollutants must deal with problems of maintenance and financial solvency.
Provision of adequate community facilities and services puts a tremendous financial strain on rural communities. This strain has been intensified in recent years by a number of factors: increased expectations of rural residents, especially those moving from urban areas and accustomed to urban services; rising numbers of people to be served; inflation and higher costs of construction, operation, and maintenance; difficulty of raising taxes to pay for improvements; and higher government standards which require that expensive improvements be made.
Issues:
1) New business and industry is less likely to locate where there is not an adequate level of community facilities, including water and sewer, health care, fire and police protection, community centers, and educational facilities.
The relation between location of new industry and an adequate water supply and wastewater treatment capacity is well recognized. Many small cities make construction of industrial parks with water and sewer connections the top priority. when embarking on programs to
42

attract new industry.
Not as well recognized, but nevertheless important, is the overall level of community facilities and services-or the amenity factor. When making location decisions, management considers not only water and sewer capacity and transportation, but also factors such as quality and quantity of housing available, quality of school systems and of health care, and retail sales and services available in the vicinity.
2) Poorly planned water and sewer facilities can turn out to be very costly, from both a financial and an environmental standpoint.
Wastewater treatment systems have two components: the collection systems or sewers, and the wastewater treatment facility or sewage disposal plant. In rural areas, where homes are widely scattered, collection systems represent as much as 75 percent of a system's total cost.
Costs to the individual user, if charged on a pro rata basis and not subsidized by government grants and low interest loans, would be prohibitive. Subsidies aside, costs to a rural community can also run too high when treatment plants are over-designed in capacity and sophistication and are built in communities with little or no growth potential.
Extension of sewers in "leapfrog" fashion beyond existing development causes not only excessive costs to the users but also results in sprawl, which has other environmental costs, including loss of prime farm land.

The Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reviews all proposed water and sewer projects, including those being funded through the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by other agencies. The Georgia EPD's responsibility is to ensure that state water quality standards will be met by the proposed facility and that proper construction methods and materials are proposed to be used. Despite the fact that a system may be over-designed, overbuilt, or may cause "leapfrog" development, the EPD cannot stop construction of a proposed system when state water quality standards will be met and proper construction methods and materials will be used.
3) Tough environmental protection standards are now necessary to attain and maintain established state and federal water quality standards. In some rural communities, sophisticated wastewater treatment methods are necessary to achieve these standards. In others, less costly treatment is sufficient to meet water quality standards.
Low maintenance central wastewater treatment systems such as oxidation ponds and sewage lagoons worked well and achieved a sufficiently high degree of treatment for small communities for years. But in the early 1970s, the federal EPA started on a campaign to upgrade these systems to mechanical treatment as one way of improving water quality of receiving streams. Mechanical treatment proved more costly than less sophisticated methods of treatment, despite the

43

fact that EPA, through the Georgia EPD, provided federal grants for a portion of these costs. (Local money was also needed to match federal grants). Recently, however, under pressure from the Georgia EPD, the federal EPA has changed its philosophy so that less sophisticatedand less costly-methods are again acceptable.
Progress is being made to stop requiring over-design of wastewater treatment facilities and overdependence on costly mechanical treatment. Oxidation ponds and lagoons are being considered acceptable treatment when quality of the receiving stream will not be significantly degraded. In Georgia, land application is considered an acceptable method of wastewater treatment and is encouraged in rural areas for which it is appropriate.
In the fall of 1978, EPD evaluated 38 wastewater treatment installations in rural areas and found that only eight needed significant improvements to meet water quality standards; 30 needed only minor improvements.
4} Some small rural communities have difficulty coming up with the local match for federal construction grants and cannot or do not want to incur more debt by accepting federal loons.
The EPD administers a sizeable grant program for improving wastewater treatment facilities, but a good portion of these funds are used for improving quality of treated discharge in urban areas which have greater water quality problems than rural areas. The EPD grants cover 75 percent of eligible project costs,

which means localities must pay for 25 percent of costs plus all ineligible costs, including collection systems.
The FmHA provides both grants and loans for treatment facilities and collection systems. However, FmHA has very limited grant money, and many municipalities cannot or do not want to incur more long range debt by using FmHA loans.
Local match can be provided through issuance of revenue bonds or general obligation (GO) bonds, but most communities are not approving more GO bonds, which are used to finance non-revenue producing facilities and which increase the local tax burden.
5} The operation of water supply and wastewater treatment systems in small rural communities is often handicapped by insufficient funds, lack of technically trained personnel, and inadequate record keeping, cost-analysis, billing and accounting procedures.
Fiscal management is a real problem for operators of small rural water and wastewater systems. In some cases, the roots of the problem date to the original financing structure, which may have been based on unrealistically low user charges. In other cases, rather than raise rates when operation and maintenance costs have risen, elected officials have kept user rates low, threatening the financial solvency of the system. The Governor and EPD receive as many as 30 emergency requests each year for such items as pumps or chlorinators. Nearly all these emergency requests come from smaller communities that cannot or do not keep money aside in a contingency fund. Moreover, without

44

adequate records, it is impossible to make meaningful cost-effective analyses in order to charge users for the actual costs of amortizing debt and maintaining a system in good operating condition.
The second major problem which rural water and sewer system operators face is technical. Sophisticated systems require more highly trained personnel to achieve adequate operation and maintenance. Even operation of less sophisticated water supply systems requires a minimum level of technical training to understand procedures for treating, sampling, and adding chlorine to the water supply.

coastal Georgia where the water table is high and seasonal flooding occurs.
Disposal of hazardous wastes in rural areas is a controversial problem. Areas with low population densities seem more appropriate for disposal of hazardous waste than urban areas, but rural residents are objecting to disposal of the industrial by-products of cities in their backyards.

Many small towns operate with part-time employees, some of whom wear many different hats. While the EPD provides training for water system operators at its Water and Wastewater Institute in Carrollton, many rural operators cannot attend week-long training sessions because they cannot leave other part-time jobs or have no replacement operator for their absence, or do not attend because the training facilities are not comparable to the older systems they must operate.
6} Acceptable solid waste disposal sites ore in short supply in some areas.

Passage of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) placed more stringent requirements on disposal of solid wastes. The RCRA prohibits open dumping, a common method of refuse disposal in many rural areas where there is much vacant land. Many communities are having difficulty finding appropriate sites for solid waste disposal, particularly in

45

Local Government

The State of Georgia has more than 750 units of local government, most of which serve rural areas.
The state's 159 counties were created constitutionally and serve a number of different functions. About 125 counties are rural; i.e., they are outside an SMSA (Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area) or have no center city of 25,000 or greater population. In fact, in 1977, onethird of the counties were estimated to have fewer than 10,000 residents.
About 600 municipalities have been granted charters of incorporation over the years. The preponderance of municipalities are small and in rural counties. Only six cities in the state have populations greater than 50,000. About 35 have populations greater than 10,000. More than 550 municipalities have fewer than 10,000 residents, and 400 of these are located in rural counties. More than 200 municipalities in rural counties have fewer than 500 residents, and about 30 have fewer than 100 residents. This latter category ranges in size down to the community of Edge Hill in Glascock County which, with a 1980 population of 36, is the smallest active municipality in the state.
County and municipal governments perform a number of different functions. Counties are responsible for levying taxes, administering justice and law enforcement, maintaining records such as deeds, mortgages and wills, construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, education, and elections. They also provide welfare assistance and services such as hospitals, libraries, parks, and, in some cases, airports, economic development assistance, and solid waste disposal.

Municipalities have powers similar to those of the counties. However, because municipalities are generally created to serve more densely populated areas, they more typically provide water, sewer, fire protection, and other urban services than do counties.
Over the past several decades both counties and municipalities have been called on to provide an increasing number of services. Service increases have resulted in response to federally mandated programs (health, welfare, education, environment) and to demands for more services from former city dwellers relocating to the countryside.
At the same time, restrictive annexation laws and growth beyond city limits of suburbs demanding city services, caused duplication of services provided by cities and counties. Some counties began taxing to provide the same services that cities were providing within their boundaries. This blurring of the traditional distinctions between functions of municipal and county governments has in some cases caused financial and service delivery problems, double taxation, and intense rivalry over tax revenues between competing city and county governments.
The Georgia Constitution (Article 9, Section 4, 1976) specifies 15 areas in which counties and cities can cooperate to provide services. However, despite this constitutional attempt to authorize cooperation, some cities and counties still have difficulty agreeing on how to jointly provide services and equitably finance those services, as seen in several recent disputes between cities and counties over distribution of the local option

46

sales tax revenue.
County and municipal governments obtain their revenue from a variety of sources, including property, sales, alcoholic beverage, hotel and motel, insurance premium, and occupational taxes; user charges; fees, fines, and forfeitures; utility franchises and revenues; and transfer payments from state and federal government.
In 1978, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) compiled data from all counties and municipalities which participate in the federal Revenue Sharing program. All 159 counties and most municipalities responded. (The survey omitted several sources of revenue, including intergovernmental transfers, user fees, utility system revenues, fines and forfeitures, and investment income).
Analysis of the data by the Georgia Tax Reform Commission showed that the property tax was the largest source of income for both rural counties and municipalities. The property tax represents 85 percent of total revenue for counties and somewhat less than 50 percent for municipalities. Municipalities depend on a wider variety of other revenue sources: alcoholic beverage taxes (15 percent), public utility franchise taxes (13 percent), local option sales tax (10 percent), and business licenses or occupational taxes (10 percent). In rural counties, the local option sales tax represents only 5 percent of total revenue; alcoholic beverage taxes represent only 3 percent; and the additional sources each represent 1 percent or less.
A different perspective on local government revenue is gained by looking at all sources of revenue,

,. 47

including intergovernmental transfers. (This information, gathered by the Bureau of the Census, does not differentiate between rural and urban places nor between county and municipal government, and does not represent as complete a sampling as the DCA data above.) Based on Census of Government figures, and speaking in approximate figures, 40 percent of local government expenses are paid for by the state and federal governments. When balanced against these intergovernmental transfers, property taxes represent approximately 30 percent, and other taxes and charges represent another 30 percent of revenue for local governments.
Issues:
1) In rural communities, as well as in larger cities, demands for more services and facilities ore not necessarily accompanied by adequate increases in revenue. The money available is simply not adequate to pay for costs of new construction, operation of facilities, and provision of services. The problems seem to be more difficult for small rural governments, because their alternatives for raising revenues ore limited.
The figures in the introduction to this section show that counties and municipalities depend heavily on the property tax for revenue. But the property tax is not elastic-revenues produced by it do not generally increase as rapidly as costs increase, especially in times of inflation.
The sales tax is a more elastic source of revenue-revenues from it increase in direct proportion to price rises. Analysis of local revenues by
48

the Georgia Tax Reform Commission, discussed above, showed that use of the local option sales tax reduced dependence on the property tax from 90 percent in non-option counties to 70 percent in option counties; and from 60 percent in non-option municipalities to 35 percent in option municipalities. Those counties using the local option sales tax thus have a more responsive source for a portion of their revenue, although the sales tax, according to some sources, may bring with it other problems such as discouraging sales when nearby sales centers do not tax, and being inequitable to the poor because of its regressive nature.
Construction projects place a burden on small rural communities (as well as on larger cities) because of the need to provide funds to match federal grants, or to incur long-range debt. Under Georgia law, revenue bonds (which can be issued without a referendum) can be used only for revenue-producing facilities. General obligation (or GO) bonds, which can be issued for up to 10 percent of the assessed valuation of a community, are pledged against the full faith and credit of the issuing governmental body and must be approved by the voters in a referendum. Since "Proposition 13 fever" has struck, voters in few communities are approving GO bonds, making it difficult to raise cash for fire stations, health centers, city halls, and other nonrevenue producing facilites.
While low interest loan money is available for construction of community facilities from Farmers Home Administration and other federal agencies, many communities would rather not-or cannot-incur long

range debt and prefer to wait until grant money, which is not readily available, can be obtained.
While money for services and facilities has not kept pace with increased needs over the past few years, the situation looks even more bleak for the decade ahead. The 1980s will in all likelihood be a time of fiscal scarcity. Federal aid cutbacks can be expected in the near and long-term, placing even greater strains on the resources of local governments.
2} Some local governments in rural areas have become heavily dependent on Revenue Sharing and other federal funds to meet their fiscal obligations.
Local governments in Georgia are increasing their use of federal funds to pay for services and construction. This reliance can be a problem because the local government unit has no control over appropriation and allocation of federal funds; yet many small communities depend heavily on federal funds for provision of primary services.
A recent study by the Brookings Institute showed that 54 percent of CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) workers in rural areas were in primary service jobs (police and fire protection, health or emergency care, road maintenance, utilities operation), rather than in less essential jobs (parks, recreation) where losses in federal funds would not have a drastic effect on primary services. These findings are supported by numerous examples in Georgia. For instance, in the community of Holly Springs, Cherokee County, the entire police force (four persons) is funded by CETA.

49

A significant finding resulting from analysis of the Census of Government data, mentioned previously, is that the federal government's contribution to local revenue grew from less than 4 percent in 1960 to 12 percent in 1977. During the same period, the state's contribution dropped from 35 percent to 26 percent, although quadrupling in absolute dollar amounts (from $202 million to $865 million). Cutbacks in General Revenue Sharing funds and in other monies used by local governments could necessitate an increase in state contributions during the 1980s.
3} Georgia is one of only three states in the nation which places no requirement for financial reports or audits on local governments. Yet many federal programs require certain accepted financial management practices and local officials need assistance in meeting these requirements.

smaller counties (under 10,000 population), which tend to be rural, do not follow sound financial management practices. Some communities operate without annual budgets, using inadequate bookkeeping methods; do not have audits performed; have no capital improvements fund, no emergency fund, and no systematic method of investing revenue collected to earn additional income. Some communities still operate out of the proverbial cigar box.

A majority of Georgia's counties and municipalities have an annual operating budget, an accounting system, and an annual audit, according to a recent survey conducted by DCA (121 out of 159 counties and 453 of about 600 municipalities responded). Many of Georgia's local governments presently engage in some of the recommended practices contributing to a sound financial mlU'lagement system.
However, the survey also showed that many of the smaller municipalities (under 3,000 population) and
House Bill776, requiring minimum budgeling and audiling slandards. was passed by lhe
1980 session of lhe Georgia General Assembly. This bill, however, carries no penally for
non-compliance.

Adequate cost analysis, for instance, might show that charges for certain capital improvements such as water and sewer systems are not nearly sufficient to pay back the debt incurred or to cover everyday operating expenses. In one rural community, this kind of analysis showed that the cost of operating the water and sewer systems was five times as great as the revenue collected.
The DCA and some Area Planning and Development Commissions pro-

50

vide assistance, upon request from local governments, in setting up sound financial management systems. Setting up an adequate system can take as long as four weeks to two months. Last year, DCA's twoperson financial management staff set up six accounting systems and three bookkeeping systems, in addition to responding to numerous other requests for short-term assistance. However, just at the time when the need for this service is becoming greater, the federal funds to support these positions are disappearing, placing a greater responsibility on the state.*
4) Small rural communities need capital for construction of facilities to meet new service demands of growing populations. However, most lack the expertise to deal with sophisticated bond marketing techniques and managing their debt obligations. Debt management is one of the weakest areas of local government administration.
About 90 percent of local bond issues [in numbers, not dollars) sold in Georgia are marketed by negotiated sales. That is, an investment banking firm structures the issues; performs all financial advisory services; engages bond counsel; gets the bonds printed; and underwrites the issue. The investment banker then sells the issue on the secondary market. Consequently there is little data but much sentiment that some smaller governments are treated
* With the passage of the FY 1981 state
budget. the General Assembly and the Governor provided the necessary funding support to continue DCA's financial management technical assistance program.

unfairly by these investment firms. Adequate consideration may not be given to their current debt structure, their ability to repay, nor to the soundness of the project being funded. Moreover, these types of "turnkey" services leave many debt managers with no idea of how to administer the debt they have just incurred nor of how to service the debt outstanding.
Sound government financial practices are one of the factors considered by bond advisors and underwriters in setting interest rates. These sound practices can help to lower interest rates-and costs to taxpayers. Methods by which state government could assist local governments in debt management need to be studied.
5) Just as in the area of financial management, other aspects of local government administration have not kept pace with growing federal requirements and more sophisticated management techniques.
Most small rural governments are administered by elected officals who have full-time jobs which demand their time and attention, and by part-time clerks or staff who wear several different hats [radio dispatcher, water system operator, zoning and codes officer, clerk, for instance).
Training and technical assistance in government administration (personnel management, tax assessors training and minimum standards, cost-accounting, bookkeeping, to name just a few) are available from DCA, the Georgia Revenue Department, and the Institutes of Government and of Community and Area Development at the University of

51

Georgia. Many administrators and elected officials take advantage of training courses and benefit from them. However, voluntary training courses can go only so far towards solving the problems.
The high turnover of administrators at the local level also contributes to the problem. Once trained and knowledgeable in operations of government, many staff move on to higher paying jobs (small communities generally do not pay well); and elected officials are not always reelected.
This problem is compounded by the trend of pushing administrative responsibility from the federal to the local level. Local governments are more frequently being asked to meet federal requirements and assume responsibility for administering contracts. Housing, environmental protection, personnel management, equal opportunity, and financial management requirements are being passed by the federal government to local governments which accept federal monies. Local governments are understaffed and often do not have the administrative capacity to handle these new responsibilities.
Moreover, because they do not have full time professional staffs, many rural communities lack grantsmanship capabilities, or the ability to deal effectively with federal agencies to successfully obtain and manage grants. The maze of federal regulations is difficult to understand and federal requirements are sometimes difficult to meet and inappropriate for small rural communities.
52

Health Care

In most of Georgia's rural areas, and for the rural poor in particular, obtaining medical care is a real problem, despite government efforts to improve health services. While an abundance of medical services are available in the larger cities, about 120 rural counties suffer from a severe deficit of health care personnel and facilities.
Some counties are in worse shape than others: 27 counties have no dentist; 13 have no physician; and 11 have no dentist or physician. In several counties where physicians are available, some work only part-time and many do not take Medicare and Medicaid patients.
The shortage of medical services in rural areas results from problems of physician distribution. Physicians tend to locate in communities above 15,000 population, leaving smaller rural communities unserved. The situation in rural areas is aggravated by the fact that many are presently served only by older general practitioners. Statewide, 20 percent of Georgia's physicians will be more than 70 years old by 1985, which will contribute to the increasing shortage of physicians serving rural counties.
Several indicators are used to measure lack of health resources: morbidity and mortality rates, and facilities and manpower. The assumption is that where high rates of disease and death occur health care is not sufficient, and where a low facility-or personnel-topopulation ratio is found, health care is not availablT! on an equitable basis. Evaluation of these indicators shows that the largest number of critically under-served counties are

found in the Fall Line Region, followed closely by the Coastal Plain Region.
Infant mortality rates provide a dramatic example of rural health problems when compared to those for the state as a whole and for the nation. The infant mortality rate for counties with less than 4,000 population is more than double the rate for the state as a whole. More than 3 percent of the children in these rural counties die in infancy. The health picture is worse for blacks than for whites in both urban and rural counties; the premature birth rate and the infant mortality rates are twice as high.
Provision of care for chronic illnesses and other health services for the elderly is a particular concern in rural areas. The elderly are less mobile and have fewer financial resources; yet their health care needs are greater than those of the general population.
The overriding issue for rural citizens of all ages is the need for a continuum of care (treatment and prevention of ordinary illnesses) as well as health education, mental health services, and access to social services, rather than the episodic (or emergency) treatment which is sometimes the only care which can be obtained by residents of rural Georgia.
Numerous government agencies operate programs to help meet medical needs of rural communities. State, substate, and interstate agencies all enter the health care picture by either providing grants, setting standards, or planning or carrying out programs. Moreover, each board of county commissioners has the

53

responsibility, through its county board of health, to provide some basic health services such as innoculations for infants and services related to the environmental health of the community.
A plethora of information exists on population growth rates; medical problems by age, race, and sex; and the availability of manpower and facilities. The health status problems are enumerated and generally agreed upon. Differences of opinion lie both in agreement upon the solutions and in the responsibility for the solutions.
Issues:
1} A critical deficit of medical personnel. and of physicians in particular, is the most serious problem confronting rural communities.
Many physicians prefer not to locate in rural communities for the following reasons: (1) they are professionally isolated with few or no opportunities for consultations, continuing training, and technical assistance; (2) they are at an economic disadvantage due to the lower income of many rural citizens and also because of inequitable thirdparty payment rates for Medicaid patients in rural areas; (3) minimal or no support services, such as personnel, equipment, and facilities, are available; and (4) many communities lack the educational, social, and cultural amenities which physicians would like for their families.
Medical schools tend to aggravate the problem of distribution by directing students toward specializations best practiced in urban rather than rural areas. Many students who

do "specialize" in family practice choose not to locate in rural communities, but this trend may begin to change if rural-oriented family practice medical programs are given greater importance in medical schools in Georgia.
In several counties with adequate numbers of physicians, doctors may provide limited service or none at all to the poor. For instance, only 26 of 44 physicians in one north Georgia county have Medicaid contracts, and in another none of 25 physicians treat Medicaid patients.
2} In rural communities not served by a primary care physician, hospital emergency rooms tend to serve as the doctor's office for many of the poor who simply have no other place to go for health care. But many of these illpesses could be handled in a primary health care center. In 1978, only 10 primary health care programs were operating in rural counties of Georgia, but the number is increasing. By the end of 1979, more than 30 were operational.
Some rural hospitals do serve as primary health care service points in their communities; about 20 offer outpatient services. When outpatient service is available, it is usually offered on an episodic, rather than a preventive care, basis, and usually no follow-up services are offered to the patient.
About 75 percent of patients' visits to emergency rooms are for primary care services which could be provided, more efficiently and at lower cost, in a primary health care center. A large percentage of these problems

54

could be taken care of by a physician extender: either by physician assistants working directly with the physician at a center, or by a nurse practitioner who, in a remote center, could assess ordinary illnesses, maintain persons with certain chronic illnesses, offer health and family planning education, and refer patients to physicians or other facilities for treatment when needed.
The use of physician extenders has already proven successful in several counties. However, the concept is fairly new and is still met with resistance from some practitioners within the medical community and from the public in some areas where such services have not been offered. In order to "sell" the concept, successful programs must be documented and shared.
Primary health care centers can provide the basic services for both treatment and prevention of disease. Their goal is to provide continuous basic health care and to refer patients to more sophisticated levels of medical service (secondary and tertiary specialized care) when needed. They are ideally suited to rural areas.
Recognizing the important role which primary health care centers play in improving and maintaining the health of rural residents, several state and federal agencies are carrying out programs, in cooperation with local organizations, to plan, develop, and operate primary health care centers in rural areas. Statewide, the number of primary health care programs is expected to increase to more than 50 by the end of 1980.
3} Community hospitals provide
55

important services to rural

I cost-effective and can hinder quality

communities. However, the ser- ' care by draining local financial

vices provided are sometimes a resources which could be directed

financial drain and may work toward the development of more

against provision of effective cost-effective services.

primary health care on a continuous basis.

4)Medical support services available in rural counties through

Presently more than 100 licensed,

health and social service agencies,

small (under 100 beds) hospitals are

para-medical personnel, and

located in rural counties; more than

laboratories are in short supply,

half of these have fewer than 50

and often the services which are

beds. Some serve as primary care

available are poorly coordinated.

centers for walk-in patients, through their emergency rooms, as well as provide inpatient services.

Other service deficiencies which contribute to a poor overall health picture in rural areas are the

Because of continually escalating

absence (or near absence) of drug

costs of operating hospitals, individ- and alcohol abuse programs, mental

ual institutions are being encouraged health services, education and

to implement cost-containment mea- employment counseling, residential

sures. In some instances, support of care for long-term illnesses, and

a small community hospital is not

dental services. For instance, current

56

information suggests that about 40 percent of rural residents lose their teeth by the time they reach their mid-50s, due to insufficient education (including nutrition education) and professional care.
Often many of these services are simply unavailable in the immediate region. However, when they are available, the problem can be one of lack of coordination and communication between separate services and agencies. Carefully planned sharing of both human and technical resources can provide adequate service to several communities. For instance, a centralized data system along with an efficient telephone communication system can make consultation and assistance available without transporting patients over long distances.
5) Quality care on a continuing basis is not accessible to large numbers of rural citizens, particularly the poor. Distances to be traveled, combined with lack of rural public transportation, contribute to the high incidence of episodic treatment, rather than preventive or ongoing health care.
A great deal of illness can be prevented (or if not prevented stopped from becoming chronic) through health education, screening, and greater individual responsibility for health care choices. For instance, regular prenatal and postnatal care dramatically reduce the incidence of premature births and of infant mortality.
Unfortunately, the current prevailing patient attitude toward health care is "run the machine till it breaks down-then fix it". This attitude is

aggravated by the lack of physicians and other health care facilities in rural areas already described above. The cost of medical care may be reduced by strong public health and nutrition education programs, but such programs are unavailable in some rural counties. Health education and screening clinics may need to be literally delivered to the rural poor through mobile health clinics operating from properly equipped and adequately staffed vans. Strengthening the capacity of rural public health programs to provide these services will enhance the health status of the rural poor.

57

Education

The State of Georgia has 187 school systems, which operate about 1,700 schools (K-12) with more than 1,175,000 students. About two-thirds of these systems serve predominately rural areas.
Experts consider about two-thirds of the state to be adequately served by educational facilities. The rural Coastal Plain Region, however, has a disproportionately large share of inadequately served counties. Some systems in the Coastal Plain are facing significant difficulties in funding construction of new facilities and in bringing programs up to state and federal standards. These counties generally have problems providing adequate educational programs because their economic and population growth are languishing and because they are centers of rural poverty.
For the middle class, school is perceived as an opportunity' for growth and development, but for the rural poor il is sometimes an inconvenience to be gotten through as quickly as possible so that the children can begin to help the family. Some of the rural poor still believe that schooling is a dead end process that has little positive effect upon the daily realities of life and getting a job.
While the schools must share the responsibility for breaking the cycle of poverty, statistics show that rural kids are not getting an even chance in education. Schools have a great potential to provide the skills, training, and leadership needed to educate children out of poverty, yet a number of factors work against rural schools being able to reach their potential.

Educational systems in rural areas tend to reflect other rural problems; at the same time, they can contribute "to those problems. Rural educational problems are rooted in a cyclical dilemma. Historically, jobs directly related to academic and certain vocational skills have not been available iA rural areas. Consequently, education has not contributed directly to employability; the value of education has not been understood; and educational programs have been underfinanced, leading to lower quality and consequent continuation of lower financial support.
The problems of rural schools are most often rooted in fiscal problems but can be interpreted in terms of educational offerings and support services, as well as by the lack of qualified teachers for the most disadvantaged areas. The 16 Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) were created to help provide specialized services and equipment for rural and small town schools unable to provide them for themselves; but some inadequacies still remain for rural systems. (Georgia is one of the few southern states which provide this kind of framework for cooperative services.) The quality of education is also affected by the willingness of local leadership to support school systems.
Rural education also suffers because rural educational problems tend to be treated the same as nonrural problems. No federal or state organization is charged specifically with responsibility for supporting rural education, nor for coordinating or disseminating information about the special needs of rural students. Lack of specific information precludes the

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formation of cohesive policies designed to address uniquely rural educational needs.
With its network of comprehensive high schools, junior colleges, universities, and post-secondary vocational-technical schools, Georgia has a very comprehensive educational system with good potential for responding to both urban and rural educational needs. However, responsibility for management of Georgia's educational system is divided among several governmental entities, tending to result in differing educational philosophies and policies and fragmentation of program delivery.
Issues
1} Historically the median level of educational attainment for {"Ural students has lagged behind that for urban students; and in Georgia the disparity is on the increase. Minority stu-

dents continue to lag behind whites in both rural and urban areas.
Using 1970 census data for males 25 years of age and older, the University of Georgia's Department of Agricultural Economics found that in both 1940 and 1970 the 10 counties with the highest levels of educational attainment were, with one exception, urban counties; the 10 with the lowest levels were all rural counties.
Average attainment levels for the highest group of counties went from 7.9 in 1940 to 12.3 in 1970, an increase of 4.4 years. The average for the lowest group went from 4.3 in 1940 to 7.4 in 1970, an increase of 3.1 years. Not only did increases in attainment levels for the urban counties outpace those for the rural counties, the gap between the two groups of counties actually increased by 1.3 years over the 30-year period.

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2) On a per-pupil basis, rural education is more expensive because fixed costs of administration, equipment, facilities, and support services are divided among fewer pupils. However, with few exceptions actual per-pupil expenditures are lower in rural counties than in urban and suburban counties. And when statewide average per-pupil expenditures are compared with those of other states, Georgia stands embarrassingly near the bottom of the Jist.
Funding for education comes from local, state, and federal sources. Many schools in rural areas receive more than 80 percent of their funding from state and federal sources, yet still have difficulty in adequately funding educational expenses. Part of the problem is the dependence on property taxes for the local share of educational costs.
Use of the property tax is based on the assumption that real property reflects personal wealth. But in agrarian areas, where large but undeveloped land holdings are common, the property wealth of landowners is disproportionately high compared to income, and rural persons tend to pay a disproportionately greater share of their income than city dwellers for education.
The local share of capital costs is also a problem because voters are increasingly reluctant to approve bond issues and have their taxes increased.
State contributions to local educational operating expenditures and capital improvements are based
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primarily on average daily attendance (ADA). With the exception of inner city schools, rural schools tend to have lower ADAs due to higher rates of absenteeism. They therefore tend to receive less financial assistance per pupil from the state than do suburban and some city schools.
The state reimburses individual school systems for the preponderance of costs associated with transportation by providing for drivers' salaries and fixed per-mile gasoline grants, and by reimbursing systems for capital expenses of purchasing buses on an amortized basis over a fixed number of years after the initial purchase. Transportation becomes a cost problem for a rural system when the system provides bus services and drivers' salaries in excess of the fixed allowances provided by the state, when gasoline costs escalate rapidly above the per-mile fee granted by the state, and when the system must meet the front end costs of purchasing new buses without benefit of accrued repayment monies.
3) Not only is there a shortage of qualified teachers in rural areas, but there is also a shortage of teachers of any kind because rural school systems lack "drawing power" and because the state's teacher preparation institutions are graduating fewer teachers each year.
Inequities in per-child expenditures are most apparent in the realm of teachers salaries. Rural teachers are generally lower paid, and tend to have fewer years of experience, than teachers in urban and suburban schools. The latter schools are usu-

ally able to offer higher starting salaries and better benefits out of local revenues, and generally can also provide some locally funded positions via local revenues to extend teacher staffs. Small rural school systems, however, have lower starting salaries, offer fewer benefits, and historically retain fewer teachers over time because they cannot compete with supplements paid by metro-area schools. Young teachers often use the experience of teaching in a rural school to gain a better paying position in a large metro area.* When local effort cannot (or will not) provide salaries and benefits above the state minimum salary schedule to attract and retain qualified professionals, the state can reimburse local systems only according to its approved salary schedule.
In 1979 the Georgia State Board of Education recommended delay of implementation of higher standards in order to fill several thousand new positions, many of which were located in rural schools. These new positions had been created through full funding for kindergarten, expansion of special education programs, and a lowering of the pupil-teacher ratio in grades one and two. Many schools have solved the problem by using teacher aides, so that fewer additional teachers are required and the schools are less likely to have to lower their standards for qualification. Generally, however, there is still a shortage of qualified instructors in mathematics, sciences, and in some vocational trades and industrial training.
In an attempt to assist placement of teachers in rural schools. a new teacher recruitment function was added to the Department of Education by the 1980 Session of the General Assembly.

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primarily on average daily attendance (ADA). With the exception of inner city schools, rural schools tend to have lower ADAs due to higher rates of absenteeism. They therefore tend to receive less financial assistance per pupil from the state than do suburban and some city schools.
The state reimburses individual school systems for the preponderance of costs associated with transportation by providing for drivers' salaries and fixed per-mile gasoline grants, and by reimbursing systems for capital expenses of purchasing buses on an amortized basis over a fixed number of years after the initial purchase. Transportation becomes a cost problem for a rural system when the system provides bus services and drivers' salaries in excess of the fixed allowances provided by the state, when gasoline costs escalate rapidly above the per-mile fee granted by the state, and when the system must meet the front end costs of purchasing new buses without benefit of accrued repayment monies.
3} Not only is there a shortage of qualified teachers in rural areas, but there is also a shortage of teachers of any kind because rural school systems lack "drawing power" and because the state's teacher preparation institutions are graduating fewer teachers each year.
Inequities in per-child expenditures are most apparent in the realm of teachers salaries. Rural teachers are generally lower paid, and tend to have fewer years of experience, than teachers in urban and suburban schools. The latter schools are usu-

ally able to offer higher starting salaries and better benefits out of local revenues, and generally can also provide some locally funded positions via local revenues to extend teacher staffs. Small rural school systems, however, have lower starting salaries, offer fewer benefits, and historically retain fewer teachers over time because they cannot compete with supplements paid by metro-area schools. Young teachers often use the experience of teaching in a rural school to gain a better paying position in a large metro area.* When local effort cannot (or will not) provide salaries and benefits above the state minimum salary schedule to attract and retain qualified professionals, the state can reimburse local systems only according to its approved salary schedule.
In 1979 the Georgia State Board of Education recommended delay of implementation of higher standards in order to fill several thousand new positions, many of which were located in rural schools. These new positions had been created through full funding for kindergarten, expansion of special education programs, and a lowering of the pupil-teacher ratio in grades one and two. Many schools have solved the problem by using teacher aides, so that fewer additional teachers are required and the schools are less likely to have to lower their standards for qualification. Generally, however, there is still a shortage of qualified instructors in mathematics, sciences, and in some vocational trades and industrial training.
In on attempt to assist placement of teachers in rural schools, a new teacher recruitment function was added to the Department of Education by the 1980 Session of the General Assembly.

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4) Among the most consistent and significant predictors of student achievement levels are the education, income, and occupation of the parents. Parents with lower levels of education themselves are less likely to be supportive of children's educational activities, and of schoolrelated cultural and social activities. Thus underachievement can be perpetuated.
Studies over the last 20 years show a measurable consistency in the continuing pattern of low achievement levels and indicate a need for parent education, especially for the rural poor who are verbally disadvantaged and whose children enter kindergarten with the same disadvantage. Education in parenting includes increasing the verbal skills of parents, so they understand the importance of reading to pre-school children, as well as study of child development and nutrition, and information on services available for special problems. Many rural high schools and post-secondary schools provide no family planning or child development courses, yet these courses are badly needed to teach sound parenting practices to young adults.
5) In rural areas which lack a variety of cultural and educational opportunities, the classroom teacher can be unusually important and influential in students' overall development. However, teacher training programs are generally oriented towards service in metropolitan schools, and telecommunications systems which could be enrichment resources are underutilized.

The Georgia Department of Education owns and operates eight television stations, and the Board of Regents has another. Together these stations represent a resource which could supplement the rural teacher and curriculum. However, telecommunications systems in the state are subject to governance conflicts; limited coordination; duplication of services, facilities, and equipment; and other problems which result in underutilization of television as an educational resource.
Adequate funding alone will not guarantee quality education. In rural schools, the variety and quality of the school experience may be far more closely related to the interests and experience of the teacher than to school size or instructional facilities, particularly at the elementary level.
Yet little systematic effort is made to prepare prospective teachers in rural education or to create courses of specific value to the rural educator. The nature of rural problems is different from that of urban problems, and solutions to some urban needs do not transfer well to rural areas. To offer educational development relevant to both the individual and the community, the rural teacher needs training and leadership ability specifically oriented to rural needs and culture in order to utilize the talent and energy of the community and to support the restoration of schools to the center of community life.
6) An inadequate school system may cause new industry not to locate in a rural community. At the same time, an inadequate school program hinders the potential for residents to create

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the industry, business, and services which would provide jobs for the community.
Industry representatives in search of new sites often consider the quality of the local educational environment as one location factor. Decisions to locate new industry can be influenced by the school system's ability to provide a continuing supply of capable workers and to provide an acceptable level of education for children of employees moving into the area.
The sparsity of employment opportunities in some rural areas places an additional burden upon educational leaders to work cooperatively with community leaders to develop community resources. Even in the most isolated rural areas, the private sector contains resources which may be underutilized by school systems. If students are provided the opportunity to use community facilities and to interact with community leaders and businessmen, they are given a greater variety of experiences to help them make informed career choices.
The involvement of industry, small business, civic groups, and church organizations can help provide needed technical assistance, business talent and ability, guidance counseling, and in some cases facilities and equipment. Involvement of the total community can also provide students with life experiences not otherwise available to them. The creation and integration of a "community faculty" offers an opportunity for much needed participation and support to the school system by the community it serves.
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Vocational Education and Job Opportunities

In 1947, the first two post-secondary vocational schools in Georgia opened their doors. Now, 24 area vocationaltechnical schools and two state vocational centers provide training courses for Georgia's post-secondary students. Three junior colleges also provide full vocational programs under joint funding agreements between the Board of Regents and the state Department of Education. About 125 comprehensive high schools provide vocational training at the secondary level.
While access to post-secondary vocational facilities is difficult from some rural counties, 16 of the 29 facilities are located in rural counties and another 10, located in urban or metropolitan counties (not in the Atlanta metropolitan area), are within reasonable driving distance of surrounding rural counties.
The relationship between education and employment is most direct in vocational education. However, the problems of meshing vocational education to employment opportunities are most difficult in rural areas, where employment opportunities are few. Rural vocational educators and state policy makers face the difficult task of training students for jobs, many of which are not available in the immediate vicinity or even in the surrounding region. At the same time educators must be responsive to the immediate needs of local industry and to job needs projected for the future. The problems of providing adequate vocational education are compounded in rural areas where the population is sparse; where financial restraints prevent the location of a vocational center at a short distance from each student's place of residence; where

automobile transportation is expensive and public transit nonexistent; and where jobs of any kind are scarce.
At the same time, the need for practical skills and training will continue to increase for both rural and urban students. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 80 percent of the job openings between now and 1985 will require skills and knowledge which can be obtained without a college degree.
Information on the relationship between vocational programs and rural economic development is scarce. National educational policy has yet to focus adequately on these relationships. While the State of Georgia is making efforts in that direction, no group or study has been commissioned to speak directly to the question of how to mesh rural development needs with vocational education.
Issues
1} Vocational education in Georgia focuses on manpower training (basic and specialized skills) which prepares students for jobs in industries, many of which are not located in rural counties. Special attention needs to be given to matching training with trends in new employment opportunities, especially to opportunities in industries more likely to locate in rural areas, and to the development of entrepreneurial skills.
Over the years, vocational education has developed as a service to existing business and industry. Some training in entrepreneurial skills can

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be found in Tift, Lowndes, and Floyd Counties, but such training is not common. Small businesses constitute 90 percent of all operating businesses in the country and employ 40 percent of the population. A high percentage of new businesses fail in their first few years of operation, due more often to lack of managerial skills than to undercapitalization. The current focus on skills training creates a population of job-seekers, rather than job-creators or small business entrepreneurs who could adequately manage their own small businesses.
Attention to trends in present and future job opportunities would provide a better match between training offered and jobs available. For instance, more auto mechanics are being trained (at the high school level) than can be employed; but the supply of secretarial help is not keeping up with demand. Department of Labor studies show that we have become a service-oriented society, but some curricula of vocational schools are not responsive to this projection of needs. Better coordination is particulary important (and also more difficult) in rural areas where students may receive training in skills which can be used only in industries located elsewhere.
The traditional focus on training for profit-oriented enterprises largely ignores the potential for training in how to organize cooperatives which can provide jobs as well as essential services to the community. Examples are agricultural co-ops for storage and marketing of local small farm produce, or processing plants for canning, freezing, or freeze-drying of raw materials.
Particularly in rural areas, where

employment opportunities are more limited, cross-training in skills is needed. For instance, few jobs may be available for a rural student with a certificate in plumbing. However, if he or she also had some knowledge of carpentry, electricity, or small motor repair, opportunities to work in maintenance, rehabilitation, and remodeling of houses and businesses might be found.
The policy of the state ?epart_m_ent ' of Education is to provtde trammg at : the post-secondary level for local jobs, if any are available, then for jobs which may be a_vailable in !he region, and then for JObs for whtch the student may have to leave the region. Matching vocational training with projected job openings is very difficult in rural areas, because the variety of jobs available is much more limited than in urban areas.
2) While the Department of Education attempts to maintain vocational-technical schools within reasonable distance of all residents, access is a problem in certain rural areas. However, constructing more facilities in sparsely populated areas may not be the most cost-effective solution, nor the solution which best serves the training needs of students.
Swainsboro Area Technical School, for instance, serves a 12-county area, the fringes of which are 50 miles from Swainsboro, making attendance at the school difficult for outlying students. Sparsely populated counties of the Fall Line and Coastal Plain regions are less well served in terms of access to postsecondary vocational facilities than are their northern neighbors, yet certain counties of the Fall Line and

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Coastal Plain are in more severe need of economic development assistance and activity.
The solutions to providing better access to vocational training are not easy. While constructing more facilities in rural areas may seem a logical solution to rural vocational education needs, funds for construction expenses are going to be increasingly difficult to secure in a period of rising costs. Moreover, if small vocational facilities are scattered around the state to provide easy access to students, their size may limit the diversity of programs which can be offered, the variety of equipment which can be purchased, and the quality of course offerings.
Better solutions may lie in offering more live-in facilities or in providing bus transportation for outlying students. A study was recently funded to determine how to provide better vocational education services to the underserved area of the Fall Line and Coastal Plain, mentioned above.
3) More coordination is needed between secondary and postsecondary vocational programs.
Progress towards better coordination is being made. Cooperative agreements have been signed between several junior colleges and many area technical schools. For instance, a two-year program offering an associate degree, incorporating studies in liberal arts and data processing, is available through Macon Junior College and Macon Area Technical School. Gainesville Junior College and Lanier Area Technical School also have cooperative arrangements.
The state boasts one model example

of dual utilization of a vocational facility. The Houston County Area Vocational Technical Center was designed to serve both secondary and post-secondary students. Students from three feeder high schools attend classes during regular school hours; from 3 o'clock in the afternoon through the evening, postsecondary students utilize the facility.
Some difficulties remain in coordination among vocational curricula and among governing bodies. Many secondary and post-secondary vocational programs are not designed on a building block basis, which would enable secondary studies to lead smoothly into post-secondary programs. Post-secondary students sometimes have to retrace ground already covered in high school and sometimes run into conflicting information at the second level of their studies. In an attempt to solve this problem, the Department of Education is actively pursuing methods of achieving better coordination between curricula used at secondary and post-secondary levels.
The roles and relationships of the several governing bodies and other manpower development programs are not always clearly defined. While differing philosophies and lack of coordination may create problems for all schools, rural schools, which are isolated by distance from each other and from resources for enhancing vocational offerings, tend to be more severely affected.

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