Fulton commissioners opt out of Atlanta mayor’s tax extension plan

The city has estimated if all three governments agree to extend the TADs, and therefore give up their portions of that tax revenue growth, at least $5 billion could be raised for infrastructure investment.

The county’s choice to opt out will increase pressure on Atlanta’s school board members, who have not yet decided whether to take part. Without the participation of Atlanta Public Schools, Atlanta’s existing TADs would be allowed to expire.

After a lengthy discussion about the effectiveness of the TADs and their potential burden on Fulton’s tax base, commissioners voted 4-1 not to take part. Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. voted against the measure and Commissioner Dana Barrett abstained after both argued the vote should be delayed.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

“These things are designed not to live in perpetuity, but to naturally come to a close and for taxpayers to realize a return on that investment,” said Commissioner Bob Ellis, who introduced the resolution alongside Vice Chair Khadijah Abdur-Rahman.

Ellis said the county and Atlanta’s school board need that tax revenue to fund services like hospitals, courts and childhood education over the next three decades.

“We’re in the process of doing things that are going to cost us money over the long term,” Ellis said ahead of the vote.

That includes more than $1 billion to renovate the troubled Rice Street jail and a $300 million commitment to building a new hospital in southern Fulton County.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

“We have to responsibly plan so we’re able to do those things and not pass off some huge significant tax burden to our citizens,” Ellis said, calling his resolution “good sound fiscal policy.”

Dickens has said extending the life of the tax districts is necessary to help develop Atlanta’s historically underserved neighborhoods and bridge the city’s massive wealth divide.

In a blistering statement released after Wednesday’s vote, the mayor’s office blasted the commission and longtime Chair Robb Pitts, who recently lost his reelection bid to former Commissioner Mo Ivory.

“Fulton County residents need affordable housing, healthcare, reliable transit, fair commercial property assessments and economic opportunity,” the mayor’s spokesperson said. “Instead, years of short-sighted leadership have left us with overcrowded jails, backlogged courts, underassessed commercial property and violent offenders cycling back onto our streets.”

Critics say TADS do little to actually help working families, however. Instead, they argue it would siphon away billions of dollars from Atlanta Public Schools and the County Commission, both of which have their own financial obligations.

The resolution “declaring the board’s opposition” to Atlanta’s plan notes that diverting tax revenue for another three decades could adversely affect the county’s ability to meet those obligations.

Arrington said the county has “limited resources available,” but asked for more time to meet with both city and county officials before voting on the proposal.

Fulton currently participates in 12 TADs, Ellis explained, eight of which are inside Atlanta city limits. But participating in Atlanta’s TADs meant Fulton had to forego $53 million in tax revenue in 2025 alone, he said.

The resolution also includes a clause requiring a supermajority of five votes if the county is to participate in future TADs.

There will be new people in at least four, possibly five, commission seats at the start of next year. But undoing Wednesday’s vote could prove difficult for future boards because of the supermajority clause now required to participate in any newly created or extended TADs.

Ellis also questioned whether the city’s push to extend six of its TADs is even legal if more than 10% of Atlanta’s tax base is currently tied up in the taxing districts.

“This is an extraordinary long-term commitment that should not be taken lightly,” Ellis told his colleagues ahead of the vote.

Barrett, who sits on the Invest Atlanta board and took part in an NRI commission tasked with studying the proposal and making recommendations, said asking the commission to extend its participation “for 30 years without any more detail than that is not acceptable.”

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

But she said there was no rush, and asked that her colleagues hold off on voting on the resolution until they could get more information from the city.

“I think this requires more consideration,” Barrett said.

A motion to delay the vote failed 3-3 before commissioners approved the resolution opting out of the extensions.

The mayor’s office said the board’s decision to opt out “came in the middle of active negotiations” between to two entities.

“We look forward to working with a new generation of county leadership that understands the needs of working families,” the statement said.

Commissioner Bridget Thorne, meanwhile, voiced frustration over what she called a lack of communication on the part of the city since the plans were introduced.

“How am I going to cover all these investments we’re making in the hospital in South Fulton, the consent decree requirements and the billion-dollar jail?” she asked. “What am I going to tell my taxpayers: ‘All of Fulton County, I’m going to raise your taxes because Atlanta needs money for some development?’”