If the proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern is successfully completed, Sandy Springs can boast more Fortune 500 companies than the city of Atlanta, says Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, including the New York Stock Exchange, which has been headquartered there for years.
But, Paul adds, many of those firms headquartered in the north Fulton city don’t see themselves as part of Sandy Springs. Instead, local corporations associate with the brand and prestige of Atlanta and often overlook the local community, he said.
Paul shared his views last Friday during a panel discussion on “Barriers to Progress: A Mayor’s Perspective” at the fifth annual Intersection Quality Development Conference.
The mayor said that it is often difficult to get business leaders to recognize the benefits of the community around them. If there is an emergency, it will be the Sandy Springs police and fire departments that respond.
“If their building catches fire, Atlanta is not coming to put it out,” Paul said. “It’s [on] us in the suburban areas … to get them engaged in the town that they operate in.
“And I get it — in Stuttgart, Germany, nobody knows where Sandy Springs is. They know Atlanta… But the corporate community needs to make sure that the ring around metro Atlanta is also healthy, and engage with us…”
The conference was presented by the Council for Quality Growth at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center, where public and private leaders discussed infrastructure and investment.
The panel, moderated by Atlanta Business Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Dean Anason, also featured Clarkston Mayor Beverly Burks and Union City Mayor Vince Williams, who echoed Paul’s call for deeper corporate and philanthropic engagement in metro-area cities.
Williams emphasized philanthropy in health care. Grady Health System is now building a 20,000-square-foot, 24-hour emergency facility in Union City, but more is needed, he said.
“The philanthropic dollar does not come to Union City,” Williams said, adding that most philanthropic money in the region goes to the city of Atlanta.
“It is going to take all of us doing this work together. How do we share the love with metro Atlanta?” he said.
An August report in the Atlanta Business Chronicle cited the dearth of medical centers in South Fulton and noted a 2023 study that showed 20 percent of South Fulton residents are on Medicaid compared to five percent in North Fulton.
During Friday’s panel, Burks called on municipalities to collaborate to attract investment, since resources are limited and investors want to maximize returns.
“The dollars are short,” she said. “The people that are looking to invest, they want to make sure that they get the most for their money.”
The three mayors said that as corporations continue to relocate into the metro region, companies must become part of the civic fabric by investing in the places where their employees live and work, and their communities rely on critical services.
