COBB COUNTY: Pioneering group leveraged private funds for public works

There is a bridge across I-75 just south of I-285 in Cobb County that thousands of commuters drive under each day, barely noticing the shadow it momentarily casts on their car, let alone the impact it has had on many of their lives.

To developer John Williams and others, the bridge known as the Kennedy Interchange has a symbolism that merits the visibility of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or, at least, the graceful lines of the Ravenel Bridge on U.S. 17 in Charleston, S.C.

The interchange is the most visible accomplishment of a group that 20 years ago decided to tax itself to raise money for transportation projects and other improvements in the Cumberland-Galleria area, one of the most desirable business centers among Atlanta’s satellite cities.

Today, the group of business owners, formally called the Cumberland Community Improvement District, marks the start of its third decade with an anniversary celebration.

“I can look out and around and see probably $100 million of road construction that we wouldn’t have without the CID,” said Williams, whose office at his Corporate Holdings company overlooks the interchange and much of the district.

The first self-taxing district in Georgia, the 5.5-square-mile Cumberland Community Improvement District has been the blueprint for at least a dozen others in metro Atlanta. While most have concentrated on traffic relief and pedestrian improvements, others have created additional tasks. Atlanta’s Midtown Improvement District, for example, created a public safety force.

Being the first wasn’t easy. It took a 1984 constitutional amendment, local legislation shepherded by former Gov. Roy Barnes, then a senator, and U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson, then a House member; solid backing by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce (Williams was chairman); and support from the Cobb County Commission.

Most important, it was a selling job, involving hours of conversations to persuade the businesses to pay an extra 5 mills in taxes annually to fund the effort.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Williams, a co-founder along with Earl Smith, then County Commission chairman. “We had to make sure there was independent governance, and the money had to be managed independently of county government.”

They sold a concept that said business owners could come together, raise money and use it to get more state or federal contributions toward projects.

Today, the district represents about 25 percent of the Cobb County tax base, according to CID Chairman Tad Leithead, a vice president at Cousins Properties, one of the largest CID members.

Among its examples of leveraging, the CID put up about $7 million for engineering and design on the Kennedy Interchange and captured state and county funding for the $85 million project.

CUMBERLAND COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SNAPSHOT

> 5.5 square miles around the I-75/I-285 intersection

> Total raised through self-tax: $70 million

> Projected collections 2008: $2.6 million

> Reauthorized every six years by vote of membership

Major projects

> Kennedy Interchange

> Cumberland Boulevard loop road

> Akers Mill overpass

> Sidewalks, pedestrian bridges and landscaping

> Van-pooling: 104 vans, about 800 riders

> Facilitates car pooling and telecommuting programs

The board

> Three members elected on ballots weighted by value of property (1 vote per $1,000 of assessed value)

> Three elected based upon one vote per property owner

> One Cobb County Commission representative

Starting a CID requires:

> Consent by the county or municipality

> Agreement by majority of property owners to be subject to taxes, fees and assessments

> Agreement by owners representing at least 75 percent of the value of property in the proposed district

> In many commercial CIDs, homeowners are not members and are not assessed

 Map locates the Cumberland Improvement District. Inset map shows area of detail.