Atlanta’s tax extension plan becomes issue in Fulton Commission chair runoff

That could put the next Fulton Commission chair in the middle of a debate about whether the county can afford to potentially forego hundreds of millions in property tax revenue over three decades while dealing with budget issues of its own, not the least of which is a $1.3 billion investment in jail improvements.

Incumbent Robb Pitts faces off against challenger Mo Ivory, a former Fulton commissioner, in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Neither Pitts nor Ivory would stake out a firm position on the issue when contacted this week by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Both appeared open to the idea without firmly committing to it.

Pitts said that at some point the county will likely receive an updated plan and a request from the city for a vote on the TAD extensions.

Pitts said he’s open to “anything reasonable to look at and discuss and come to an agreement that makes sense for the county and the city.” But he also said he doesn’t “see a circumstance under which a blanket extension of those six TADs for 30 years is going to happen.”

Ivory said she supports evaluating each TAD on its own merit, calling them important tools for economic development that should create affordable housing, jobs and infrastructure.

“I think that Mayor Dickens and I agree that the city-county partnership matters,” Ivory said.

Dickens recently endorsed Ivory, who said that there is no agreement in place for her to support the TAD extensions in exchange for his endorsement.

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

The city estimates revenue from the TAD extensions at between $5 billion and $7 billion, but only if the schools and the county also sign on.

The revenue would drop to about $2 billion if the city goes it alone, but the legislation being voted on by the council Monday would not allow the city to bond against future tax increment revenue without at least one of the other boards voting to approve the extensions.

The county’s decision on TADs will be inextricably linked to its $1.3 billion financing plan — which the commission approved unanimously in April — to renovate the Rice Street jail and build a new facility for inmates with special needs, Ivory said, because both are long-term financial commitments.

The county has not answered whether it plans to raise the property tax rate to pay for the jail project.

“Fulton county needs a clear understanding of its own finances, a clear understanding of what those future obligations would mean, and what are the available resources,” Ivory said.

Pitts said the plan to renovate the troubled Fulton County Jail and build a new health care facility with 1,800 beds makes more sense than building a new jail, which would have been more expensive.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

The jail was an issue over which Pitts and Ivory clashed. Ivory was in favor of building a new jail, but was not on the commission at the time of the financing vote that finalized the approach.

“If you build a new jail with 4,000, 5,000 beds, who will be in those beds?” Pitts asked. “More Black and brown men, and that is not going to happen on my watch.

“I would rather spend money on the front end with programs and services to help those young men and women first.”

Ivory said the Rice Street facility should be torn down, not renovated. It is unlikely that Ivory could change the renovation plan if she wins the gavel.

As for the TADS, extending six of them would allow the city to freeze the property tax base in those districts and funnel all new revenue above that base into redevelopment in those areas. It is unclear how underserved city neighborhoods without a TAD would receive investment under the mayor’s plan.

The six districts are the Westside, Eastside, Campbellton Road, Hollowell—Martin Luther King Jr., Metropolitan Parkway and the Stadium Area.