On October 13th, the Atlanta Regional Roundtable unanimously passed the amended final transportation project list. Voters will have the opportunity to vote on a 1% sales tax on July 31, 2012 that will fund projects on the final project list. The final investment list included the six amendments that passed at previous meetings. Each amendment passed unanimously as well. For the final vote, Roundtable Chairman and Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson requested each member of the Roundtable that voted yes for the adoption of the final list to stand. He also requested all those in the room that supported the list and the TIA in general to stand. Almost everyone in attendance stood. It was truly a historic day for the metro Atlanta region.
Georgia Department of Transportation Planning Director Todd Long provided an updated on the 11 other special tax districts throughout Georgia reporting that most of the regions passed unanimously with only two counties in the entire state voting no. There are 1632 projects statewide that would be funded through the regional sales taxes. Information about other regions in the state can be found here.
Atlanta Regional Commission Chairman Tad Leithead provided a statement about the next steps following the disbanding of the Atlanta Regional Roundtable following the adjournment of the final meeting as called for in the legislation. In his statement, Chairman Leithead urged that the ARC is invested in this process until the very end. Throughout the process should voters approve the sales tax next July, ARC supports involvement by the local elected officials that served as members of the Roundtable. They also plan to educate the public about the impacts of each project and play a critical role in the implementation and accountability of the process. He also suggested the possibility of reconvening the members of the Roundtable under a new name. You can learn more about the final list and Atlanta Regional Roundtable at the links below.