The official 2010 Census breakdown for Georgia cities and counties was released last Thursday, and it pretty much verified what many had anticipated. Bartow County grew by 31.8% since 2000 and with a 2010 population of 100,157 we are now larger than Floyd County, which came in with 96,317 residents. 

Now before you get your “We’re Number One” giant foam finger out of the attic and start waving it around, there’s a few things about topping the 100,000 number you should be aware of. It seems that once a county’s population passes this magic number, both business and government view that county differently.

For those of you who have moved up to Bartow from Cobb or another of the core metro Atlanta counties, you have probably enjoyed not having to get an emissions testing inspection for your automobile here. The odds are now strong the EPA will soon place Bartow among those counties where testing is required.

There are a lot of cars and trucks on Bartow roadways that I can guarantee you won’t pass inspection without repairs. You can hear them coming from a mile away or see the smoke bellowing from the exhaust as they go by. The winners will be those who open inspection testing centers and those auto service center owners who handle exhaust system repairs. Of course some folks may decide this is a good opportunity to replace their current piece of junk with a new ride. On the bright side, at least maybe our neighborhoods will be a little quieter and our air a little cleaner.

Many other federal and state environmental regulations also kick in that could make it more difficult for industries to get permits for fluid and atmospheric discharges, and could also impact future road projects among other things.

The new Census data could mean more restaurants and retailers for Bartow County, as once again that 100,000 population mark tends to perk up the ears of developers and the large chains who typically anchor their developments. Many have mentioned Olive Garden, Steak & Shake, O’Charley’s, Shane’s Rib Shack, Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Walgreen’s and others as possible stores or restaurants they would like to see locate here. You may get your wish.

On the political front there will be some changes, but not as drastic as some areas of the state may experience. One thing sure to change is that state law requires all probate judges to be lawyers in counties with 100,000 or more residents. Bartow County has been exempt from that requirement previously.

As new political district boundaries are redrawn to reflect new population totals, Bartow will primarily see some small changes, but a more substantial change could occur in the configuration of our congressional district. Presently all of Bartow County is in the 11^th district represented by Congressman Phil Gingrey. When the current maps were drawn 10 years ago, a Georgia congressional district contained roughly 629,727 people, but the new districts will now be drawn to hold around 691,975.

Georgia is picking up one new congressional district due to our growth for a total of 14 congressmen. With most of the growth coming in north Georgia, it is anticipated this new district will be squeezed in somewhere north of Interstate 20. Of course redistricting is a political process and there are numerous people, some currently elected as state legislators, who would like to have a say in creating that new open district in hopes of running for the position.

Some would like to see Bartow County placed with other northwest Georgia counties to create a new district stretching up to the Tennessee border. This might shove Phil Gingrey into a more west Georgia centered district, though he could announce that he wishes to stay with Bartow, Floyd and other counties he currently represents and he could run in that new district.

Others are really pushing for the new district to be created in northeast Georgia, possibly with Gainesville as the hub. This might put Bartow and Floyd into Congressman Tom Graves current ninth district as some of his eastern counties get peeled away. Graves is a Bartow County native and this possible configuration might make the most sense for a large number of those involved in drawing and approving these new maps.

The ideal new state House seat will grow in size from the current 45,480 residents up to 53,820. I don’t expect the districts of current Bartow County Representatives Paul Battles and Christian Coomer to change much, though there will be a big push from Floyd County to reduce the territory covered by Coomer’s district in Floyd. Business and community leaders have not been happy that out of four current house seats representing Floyd residents, there is only one district configured wholly in Floyd County. The other three House members all live in adjoining counties. With the Republicans completely in charge of reapportionment, they will only consider Floyd’s plea if they think changes there will result in Republicans being elected. Also they will not do anything that could put Coomer’s seat in jeopardy.

State Senate districts currently have an ideal size of 145,148, but will now need to contain 164,198 people. Though Floyd County overwhelmingly voted for Barry Loudermilk, there are some there who would like to see that district changed so that a Floyd County person could once again hold the seat, as was the case for several decades until Loudermilk’s huge victory last November. I expect Loudermilk to possibly pick up a little more of Bartow County, which he shares with State Sen. Bill Heath.

Of course districts will need to be redrawn for Cartersville city council and school board seats as well as for Bartow County school board seats, though these should just be minor tweaks.

So now that Bartow County has topped the 100,000 population mark, maybe we should have a big countywide celebration party at the new Clarence Brown Conference Center. If we do, be sure to bring your “We’re Number One” foam finger.

Follow me on Twitter @chuckshiflett and also check out my statewide columns at: The Backroom Report.