Editing Macon, Georgia (section)

===Consolidation===
[[File:Bibb County Georgia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Macon Highlighted.svg|thumb|right|Location of Macon within Bibb County before consolidation]]
On July 31, 2012, voters in Macon (57.8% approval) and Bibb County (56.7% approval) passed a referendum to merge the governments of the city of Macon and most of unincorporated Bibb County. The vote came after the [[Georgia General Assembly]] passed House Bill 1171, authorizing the referendum earlier in the year;<ref name=maconbibb/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb1171.htm |title=HB 1171 – Macon-Bibb County; create and incorporate new political body corporate |access-date=2017-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609043238/http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/sum/hb1171.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2012 }}</ref> Four previous consolidation attempts (in 1933, 1960, 1972, and 1976) failed.<ref name="City-County Consolidation Proposals, 1921 - Present">{{cite report |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Documents/City%20County%20Consolidations.01.01.2011.pdf |title=City-County Consolidation Proposals, 1921 - Present |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719083354/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Documents/City%20County%20Consolidations.01.01.2011.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2012 |website=National Association of Counties |access-date=2011-02-11 |year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.ai.org/legislative/interim/committee/2005/committees/prelim/MCCC02.pdf |title=The Effects of City-County Consolidation: A Review of the Recent Academic Literature |publisher=Indiana Policy Review Foundation |location=Fort Wayne, IN |first1=Samuel R. |last1=Staley |first2=Dagney |last2=Faulk |first3=Suzanne M. |last3=Leland |first4=D. Eric |last4=Schansberg |date=November 16, 2005 |access-date=2017-01-29 |archive-date=July 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721082018/http://www.ai.org/legislative/interim/committee/2005/committees/prelim/MCCC02.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=autogenerated3>Consolidation pass for Macon and Bibb county in the 2012 vote. [http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04152005-170723/unrestricted/05_lsj_CHAPTER_4_b.pdf "Consolidation of City and County Governments: Attempts in Five Cities"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120034927/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04152005-170723/unrestricted/05_lsj_CHAPTER_4_b.pdf |date=January 20, 2013 }}. Retrieved September 14, 2010.</ref>

As a result of the referendum, the Macon and Bibb County governments were replaced with a mayor and a nine-member county commission elected by districts, and a portion of Macon extending into nearby Jones County was disincorporated. [[Robert Reichert]] was elected the first mayor of [[Bibb County, Georgia|Macon-Bibb]] in the September 2013 election, which required a runoff with [[C. Jack Ellis]] in October.<ref name="redsignedGovernment">{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Maggie |title=Macon-Bibb merger proposes smaller, redesigned local government |url=https://www.macon.com/news/article28642771.html |access-date=17 January 2022 |work=The Telegraph |location=Macon, Georgia |date=28 February 2012}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.macon.com/2012/07/31/2116420/first-macon-bibb-county-consolidation.html|title = Macon-Bibb County consolidation wins with strong majorities|author = Mike Stucka|newspaper = The Telegraph|location=Macon, Georgia|date = July 31, 2012|access-date = August 1, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140719125943/http://www.macon.com/2012/07/31/2116420/first-macon-bibb-county-consolidation.html|archive-date = July 19, 2014|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstories/article/188608/175/Consolidation-3-Areas-of-Macon-and-Bibb-Affected-Differently |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116000154/http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstories/article/188608/175/Consolidation-3-Areas-of-Macon-and-Bibb-Affected-Differently |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |title=Consolidation: 3 Areas of Macon and Bibb Affected Differently |publisher=13 WMAZ |date=July 13, 2012 |first=Erica |last=Lockwood }}</ref><ref name="ReichertMaconBibb">{{cite news |last1=Gaines |first1=Jim |title=Reichert wins Macon-Bibb mayor's office by wide margin over Ellis |url=https://www.macon.com/news/politics-government/election/article30124359.html |access-date=17 January 2022 |work=The Telegraph |location=Macon, Georgia|date=15 October 2013 |ref=ReichertMaconBibb}}{{subscription required}}</ref>