Governor Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston on Friday made their first round of appointments to the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL) which will oversee transit coordination and funding between the 13 counties that comprise the Atlanta metro. Charlie Sutlive, director of corporate communication at Georgia Power, will chair the board, while Teddy Russell of Russell Landscape, Mark Toro of North American Properties, Charlotte Nash of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, and Earl Ehrhart, the outgoing state rep. who is now CEO of Taylor English Decisions (and a former James Magazine Legislator of the Year!). Four strong appointments will provide a solid base for the new authority, whose ship, as it prepares to leave port, is RISING…
Atlanta, Fulton Co. square off in tax fight
The City of Atlanta has long used tax allocation districts (TADs) as an economic development tool, leveraging property tax increases to pay for local infrastructure projects. But the Fulton County Commission has slammed on the brakes, voting 4-1 to reject a proposed 30-year extension of Atlanta’s TADs. That sets up a major budgetary clash, as the Fulton TADs would be expected to generate over a billion dollars over that period. Now the county will vote on TADs on a case by case basis, with stricter oversight and enforcement, leaving Atlanta’s money faucet DRIFTING…
