With a regional referendum and billions in transportation dollars at stake, House Speaker David Ralston was trying to quell an urban backlash.
But adding Atlanta's mayor to the panel taking first crack at a metrowide project list hasn't placated some key Fulton and DeKalb leaders, who still say they're being marginalized under the Transportation Investment Act of 2010, or House Bill 277.
"Kasim Reed is the mayor of Atlanta," Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves said. "He's not the mayor of Fulton County."
Similarly unimpressed south Fulton Commissioner William “Bill” Edwards said he’ll “absolutely” campaign against the sales tax going on an August 2012 ballot, unless the Legislature alters the structure of the 21-member, suburb-weighted “roundtable.” He also wants lawmakers to rethink having Fulton and DeKalb residents, already paying a penny tax for MARTA, pay 2 cents for transportation while other core counties pay 1 cent.
If approved, the new tax would generate an estimated $7 billion to $8 billion over 10 years for transit, roads, pedestrian systems and technology. Planners view it as the best hope for making major improvements in the area.
Under HB 277, each of 10 metro counties gets two members on the Atlanta Regional Roundtable -- its commission chair and one mayor. The Atlanta mayor makes 21.
That gave just five votes to Fulton and DeKalb counties, which together make up 41 percent of the 10-county population. Suburban and exurban counties got 16 votes.
When the roundtable elected a five-member executive committee to narrow down the Georgia Department of Transportation's "wish list," it picked small-town mayors and outlying county commission heads. That threw the roundtable into discord, and after a concerned Ralston met with the executive committee, the group voted to have Reed replace Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson as a voting committee member and make Johnson its nonvoting chairman.
Eaves points out that Reed is still just one vote of five. The other executive committee members are Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd, Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews, Henry County Chairman B.J. Mathis and Douglas County Chairman Tom Worthan.
Reed declined to comment for this article.
Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin said if that's how roundtable decisions will go -- stacking things in favor of the suburbs, then tossing the urban center a bone -- it doesn't bode well for the final list.
"They're trying to do what they can do to smooth things over, until they get their penny," Martin said. "You cannot insult me and get my penny. In terms of Atlanta, I'm already insulted."
State DOT spokeswoman Jill Goldberg said only projects with regional significance will be considered, and the final list will have to satisfy the highly populated urban areas to succeed at the polls. The executive committee can ultimately be overruled by the roundtable.
"I think you're going to see a very open and robust discussion," Johnson, the Norcross mayor, said. "At the end of the day, it really is about the citizens and what they're willing to pay for."
DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, who voted against the Reed switch, said the executive committee should have included him and Eaves.
Ellis said he's not giving up hope that the roundtable will come up with an appropriate list, expected to be adopted in October. Otherwise, he promises a "major challenge."
Eaves also stopped short of saying he would campaign against the tax. One of the Fulton commission's charges to its lobbyists is to petition for changes to HB 277, though head lobbyist Mike Vaquer told the board Wednesday the Legislature isn't likely to take up their concerns.
"Some of these wrinkles that are there now," Eaves said, "they've got to be ironed out for the constituents that I represent to feel comfortable approving it."
When Fulton's non-Atlanta mayors came together to pick a representative, both Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker and Union City Mayor Ralph Moore were nominated. They flipped a coin and Moore won.
Bodker said he trusts Moore to speak for the northern six cities. Those complaining of the urban vs. suburban makeup of the roundtable are missing the point, he said.
It's more important to show voters that their leaders can think regionally, Bodker said, setting the stage for future transportation referendums.
"If we fail, I don't believe we'll get another shot," he said.
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