A note on Mayor Dickens latest funding idea

A while back, the Mayor made some sweeping comments about expanding the Tax Allocation District to fund the Southside Beltline Trail and any rail therein to the Atlanta Press Club, as Mayors do. This is apparently how he intends to fund the transit plans he mentioned previously. Mayor Dickens says he wants to have a “robust” public discussion this summer. Let’s just say if prior history informs current decisions, I’ll believe it when I see it. This morning, he’s sending one of the Wonder Twins as his envoy to address the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board. I served on this board for a few years, and will be returning today to offer public comments on this matter. My comments are relegated to two minutes, so I thought I’d use this platform to explain to anyone why this is such a boneheaded idea. As a neighbor who lives within the Beltline and an Atlanta Public School parent, I am in opposition to this expansion as it will pull future resources from APS, while it is currently facing a $105 Million dollar deficit. While I have strong confidence in Superintendent Johnson’s ability to navigate the budget crisis he faces, I see no need to add a new hurdle for him to jump. 

Instead, I’d like to remind all of you dear readers of previous bad decisions that undergird my opposition. Later, this morning APAB will hear from Courtney English, who previously sat on APS’s Board of Education. In 2015-2016, the state of Georgia passed a ballot initiative for the state, one which would have established a state takeover school district. This legislation was threaded through the Gold Dome by Erin Hames, who worked for Governor Deal at the time. Following the passage of the OSD bill that would put the matters to voters in our state, Ms. Hames was awarded an almost $100 thousand, no-bid contract by the APS Board. Her contract was to keep APS schools out of the Opportunity School District she advocated for under the Gold Dome. This ballot initiative eventually failed with voters, but Mr. English’s decision was made prior to the initiative failing at the ballot box. 

APAB will hear from Mr. English about how this expansion is a great idea. But, we’ve already seen his bad decisions. I personally do not wish to see more tax money diverted from my child’s school for whatever Mr. English’s next political favor may be. I trust the board to make wiser decisions. 

To be clear, I am fully in favor of MARTA rail, and if you have followed me on Facebook, you’ve probably read some of my MARTA posts throughout the last few years. I’m also supportive of the Southside Beltline Trail, to the extent I have also participated in the process surrounding the preservation and development of the historic Lakewood Elementary School, after it was supposed to be demolished (h/t to John Ruchs). Ironically, the Mayor’s office (and its ever-expanding personnel budget) helped to shepherd this through a long-term lease (maybe 50 years?) so that a developer could develop the land around it, generating tax money, and APS could maintain possession of the property. Because of the historical significance to the area AND because APS has sold off properties in the past only to need them again in the future. No one’s making any more land, sadly. This particular property is in the center of the redevelopment of the old Ford Plant and some other developments in the area, making this a place where young folks and their families are moving to. Better transit and modes of transportation for a part of the city that hasn’t had development in a LONG time is not only requisite, but wise. Guess who’s going to need a school in years to come, right? Now if we could only do this over in English Avenue with what is rumored to be the very FIRST APS building AND a Carnegie library. A girl can dream, right?

Pulling support for Beltline Rail on the eastside was a dumb political move for the Mayor. I honestly don’t know why he did it. Years ago I was over on that Beltline side and watched while holes were dug along the trail for what was clearly going to be further infrastructure. It seems really wasteful to have already begun this work only to pull back at the last minute. Further, in the heart of the city, the ability to have more rail in areas that are already densifying is immeasurably valuable. Again, no one’s making more land, and Atlanta traffic is getting no better. Further, the well heeled yuppies and eastside set are not only politically active, but also have deep enough pockets to fund opposition candidates over this issue. And with Doug Shipman not returning as Council President and Council elections coming up, any vote on this matter places them in a politically difficult position. 

It’s just not a bone I would have picked. 

Expanding this TAD and diverting funds from APS is not the way. Funding will take more than just an expansion of the TAD. It will take intergovernmental agreements with Fulton County, APS, Invest Atlanta, and should be shared in whole with the public rather than in bits and pieces. We cannot piecemeal our path into funding the future of Atlanta. As a city, we need to be making some more comprehensive and meaningful changes to how we handle our tax digest versus trying to stick small bandaids here and there. 

May I kindly suggest the Mayor, Mr. English, and perhaps Chair Erika Mitchell pay Commissioner Phillip Beard of Buford a visit before they agree to any short-changing of APS going forward? Or dissolve the Development Authority of Fulton County, after following the lead of SB 151, passed last month under the Gold Dome? I mean, if other cities in Fulton get to opt out of this bureaucratic mess, why can’t Atlanta? We already have Invest Atlanta, our own development authority, and Brandon Beach got his promotion for carrying Elon’s water. What’s the need for it now?

I will kindly ask the APAB Board to support rejection of this expansion and encourage Mr. English to go back to the Mayor with requests for more transparency around his plan, a comprehensive explanation of funding mechanisms, and a plan for educating the public on what that plan will entail before asking for support. Otherwise, the Mayor and his Wonder Twins are asking us to hinge our support for this on essentially ephemeral suggestions and emotions rather than numbers. That seems like a recipe for disaster, but then again, when has the Mayor ever let logic get in the way of his hubris?