Atlanta Public Schools officials and city leaders say they hope put to rest, by the end the year, a long-running dispute over how to fund the Atlanta Beltline.
For nearly three years, Mayor Kasim Reed's administration and APS officials have been at odds over a multi-million dollar contract that outlines the Beltline's funding model. Per a 2009 agreement that expires in 2030, the city receives a portion of the schools' property tax revenue for Beltline development. In exchange, it agreed to make $162 million in fixed annual payments from the Beltline tax allocation district, or TAD, to APS.
But, citing the effects of the economic downturn — which, for a time, devastated the Beltline’s growth — the city has skipped two payments worth $13.5 million to APS. In January, the city will owe another $7.5 million.
If it doesn’t pay, it risks being in breach of the contract, though Reed notes the contract gives Atlanta four years to pay off that debt. And earlier this year, the Atlanta City Council approved spending $4 million to help settle the dispute.
APS Chairman Courtney English, appearing at a Metro Atlanta Chamber event this week, said he hopes to put the issue to bed before 2016. The chairman described the negotiations that he, Reed and their respective attorneys have had as “positive.”
“I think we’re closer than we’ve ever been,” he said. “Now it’s a matter of bearing down and getting this deal done in the next couple of weeks.”
Reed seemed to feel less urgency, though he was no less hopeful. While “it isn’t important at all” to him that it’s finished by Dec. 31, Reed said reaching a deal “would be terrific.”
“The bottom line is that I’m hopeful,” Reed said. “We’ve been working at it.”
Such an accord would bring to a close a messy and adversarial chapter between the city and school system. The dispute has been marked with very public spats between Reed and a host of other public officials, including English, APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, former APS Superintendent Erroll Davis and even Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell.
It’s also harmed the Beltline’s ability to continue to develop its 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit. About a third of the Beltline’s annual budget comes from the TAD.
Paul Morris, CEO of Atlanta Beltline Inc., told ABI board members last May that the conflict has "made it virtually, physically and legally impossible for us to get loans, to sell bonds, to interact with investors and go to our banks with opportunities."
English said he believes all parties are ready to move on, noting, “I think everybody is tired of talking about it at this point.”
About the Author
