Service Delivery Strategies (SDS)

The Service Delivery Strategy process gives local governments and authorities the opportunity to reach agreement on the delivery of services in an effective and cost-efficient manner to Georgia's citizens.

The intent of the Act is:

  • To provide a flexible framework for local governments and authorities to agree on service delivery arrangements.
  • To minimize any duplication or competition among local governments and authorities providing local services.
  • To provide a method of resolving disputes among service providers regarding service delivery, funding equity and land use.

Each county and its municipalities has developed a service delivery strategy including the items listed above.

Local governments must revise their service delivery strategy and submit it to DCA for verification when any one of the following conditions occur:

  • In conjunction with the update (i.e., complete rewrite) of a county's comprehensive plan;
  • Whenever the service delivery or revenue distribution arrangements are changed (e.g., whenever the local governments within the County decide to change how a service is provided or funded);
  • In the event of the creation, abolition or consolidation of local governments (e.g., when a City currently located outside of the County annexes property in the County for the first time); or,
  • Whenever the County and the Municipalities in the County agree it is appropriate to do so.

SDS Verification / Compliance / Due-Dates

The issues of local service delivery, local revenue collection and distribution, and intergovernmental coordination are very importantion to the State of Georgia.  While the actual decisions the cities and counties make to settle those issues are left to the local governments, themselves, compliance with the standards that apply to the documents that provide the details of those decisions is critical.  Without a Service Delivery Strategy verified by DCA to comply with applicable requirements, a local government or respective authorities are ineligible to receive any state permits or financial assistance. In addition, any local projects that are not consistent with the strategy will not receive any state permits or financial assistance. Local governments should review their strategy before seeking state permits or assistance to ensure that the proposed project is consistent with the strategy.

Periodic updates of your service delivery strategy are required in order to retain eligibility for various programs, as discussed above. Please take a moment to review your community’s, below, to ensure that your eligibility for state assistance is not interrupted.  We urge local governments to check their current compliance status and future due dates regularly, below.

NOTE: The Service Delivery Act provides DCA with 30 days to review SDS documents to verify their compliance.  Be aware that all deadlines are the dates by which DCA must have verified that your SDS is compliant--the deadlines are not submittal dates, they are process completion dates.  We recommend 60-90 day lead times to ensure that reviews can be completed and any necessary revisions conducted and subsequently reviewed before passage of applicable deadlines.