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=== Moves toward incorporation === {{Unreferenced section|date=August 2018}} For more than a decade, there have been discussions by county officials to incorporate the county into a city. This issue first became moot in 1996 when the city of Augusta and Richmond County consolidated their governments. A state law mandating three mile buffer zones between cities effectively halted any efforts for Columbia County to incorporate, as it was contiguous to [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta-Richmond County]]. In 2005, talks of incorporating the county into a city resurfaced when the Georgia state legislature abolished the three mile buffer zone, thus allowing [[Sandy Springs, Georgia|Sandy Springs]] in North [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]] (contiguous to [[Atlanta]]) to become a city. Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross led a campaign to bring the idea of county incorporation back to life. However, it was referred to as "consolidation," since counties in Georgia alone cannot incorporate, but can rather consolidate with an existing municipality within the county. The plan was to hold a referendum to incorporate the de facto county seat, [[Evans, Georgia|Evans]] (currently a [[census-designated place]]), as a city and then simultaneously consolidate it with Columbia County. The initiative drew strong opposition from officials in [[Harlem, Georgia|Harlem]] and [[Grovetown, Georgia|Grovetown]], the county's only municipalities, citing that it would keep their cities from growing. The word "consolidation" also had an immediate negative connotation with many residents of Columbia County, seeing the example of the [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta-Richmond County]] plagued with [[unintended consequence]]s. A straw poll conducted during the county Republican Party primary election, showed strong opposition to the idea countywide. The County Commission Chairman Ron Cross has vowed to keep the issue alive, but based on the negative sentiment from voters, it appears that at least for now, the idea of incorporation is back in hibernation.
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