In a major address timed to kick off his third year as mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed pushed a variety of measures that he said would create jobs and help the city remain the hub of investment throughout the Southeast.
The first-term mayor said passing a 1-percent regional transportation tax later this year will be critical to keeping Atlanta the regional capital of business and trade.
Meanwhile, Reed said the Atlanta Development Authority will be rebranded as "Invest Atlanta" to reflect its new emphasis on jobs, specifically recruiting firms and investment to the city and cultivating start-up companies.
The new tax, a T-SPLOST, would generate more than $600 million apiece for the Atlanta Beltline and MARTA's capital improvements. The projects would alleviate traffic and help create well-paying jobs, Reed argued in a "State of the City" speech Thursday morning.
"We have to pass the T-SPLOST," Reed told an audience of more than 900 at the Georgia World Congress Center. "If we dream again, if we look up, we will pass the T-SPLOST."
Last week, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal made a similar case for passage of the tax, which would yield $6.14 billion for projects around the Atlanta region. It is scheduled to go before voters in July.
Reed said he planned to join Deal on a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and lobby for federal funds to deepen the Port of Savannah.
"Its health and success matters to the City of Atlanta," Reed said of the Savannah project. But the T-SPLOST, he said, is "really the most important thing" for Atlanta's economy.
Reed previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that reducing unemployment would be a major priority in his third year in office, along with cutting homelessness and foreclosures. Atlanta's unemployment rate stood at 10.3 percent in November, higher than the regional, statewide and national rates.
On Thursday, Reed also unveiled a new citywide initiative called "TweetMyJobs" to help put unemployed residents back to work. The technology, accessible at Atlanta.tweetmyjobs.com, delivers job listings to job seekers via Facebook, Twitter, email and mobile devices and allows for job referrals and introductions. There are more than 85,000 job listings on the platform.
Under its new marching orders, Invest Atlanta will still help residents purchase homes, make small business loans and issue bonds and incentives for new development. But taking a cue from similar agencies in other major U.S. cities, it will now be focused on job creation and drawing companies to relocate to Atlanta from outside the area.
Invest Atlanta will help start-ups find capital and resources, try to keep newly created companies in the region and recruit entrepreneurs to start their businesses and develop products in Atlanta. It will also help coordinate business recruitment missions, including one Reed will take to China in March.
"I will go wherever I need to go," Reed said. "I don’t think you can generate the jobs of the future by sitting in my office at City Hall. I don't believe you can be a truly global city without developing strong relationships with China."
Invest Atlanta will team up with the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Georgia agencies to make "Atlanta the No. 1 place to start a business in the U.S.," Reed said.
A.J. Robinson, president of downtown business coalition Central Atlanta Progress, supported the change.
"It's innovative and says we're serious about getting into the economic development business," Robinson said. "It's the right time to do it."
Brian McGowan, who leads the agency, said the city needs to enhance its economic development arm to remain competitive with what is being done by similar departments in other major U.S. and foreign cities. Companies are being choosy with their capital investments and there are fewer dollars going around, he said.
"The mayor is focused on economic development, creating jobs and making sure Atlanta is competitive in a 21st century global economy," McGowan said. "Atlanta just needs to get in the game. We're simply not in the game right now."
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