Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday that he had no interest in revisiting a regional transportation tax after a plan for a 1-cent sales tax was resoundingly rejected by voters.
Deal also poured cold water on the idea of levying a new gas or hotel tax to make up the revenue.
"I think we have to be very, very careful that we don't rob Peter to pay Paul just because we've had a downturn in revenue for transportation," he said after the groundbreaking of a new plant in Covington. "That also means we have to keep a very close eye, a close watch, on what is available and what projects are most important."
He said he would make a certain projects a priority, such as a new interchange at I-285 and Ga. 400, but that other projects would move further down the list. He said he picked the interchange because the notorious bottleneck will likely get worse after the 50-cent toll on Ga. 400 ends next year.
"It will require that we reprioritize the projects that are currently being considered. We're going to have sharp cuts," he said. "We're going to have to eliminate every unnecessary expenditure and make sure that the transportation dollars that are available are put in the right place to produce the best results."
Deal said he was not inclined to make increased funding of MARTA a priority.
"MARTA needs to be fixed, and before the taxpayers are going to spend any more money on MARTA, I think they've also sent a message that they're not going to put more money into something they perceive is not functioning appropriately with the revenue that's available," he said. "I'm sure that's a discussion that will occur during the next legislative session. "
As for the possibility of reviving the 1-cent regional sales tax, his answer was unequivocal.
"I have no interest in that," he said. "I think the public has expressed their opinion on that. I see no sense in revisiting an issue that the public has rather resoundingly expressed their opinion on."
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