DeKalb commissioners appear poised to pledge the county’s allegiance — and a full penny sales tax — to MARTA for an additional decade.
But they’re still searching for ways to ensure the transit agency will deliver what it’s promising.
Late last year, MARTA's board approved a long-discussed contract amendment that would extend the penny sales tax collected in its four member jurisdictions through 2057. Under the current contract with Atlanta and Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties, the tax would be reduced to half a penny in 2047. MARTA officials say they need to extend the existing commitment to continue funding operations and capital projects.
Only three of the four members jurisdictions need to approve the amendment in order for it be ratified, and Atlanta, Clayton and Fulton have already done so.
In DeKalb, though, commissioners on the public works and infrastructure committee voted Tuesday to recommend moving forward with approval. A vote of the full commission is likely to take place next week.
“I think that most of [MARTA’s] upside is still dependent on our continued support,” Commissioner Jeff Rader said. But he and other officials continued to raise concerns about DeKalb being left high and dry.
Under the amendment, which was negotiated over the course of two years, MARTA commits to incorporating DeKalb's new transit master plan into its engineering report.
Other commitments include new transit centers at South DeKalb Mall and in Stonecrest; faster bus service in the Buford Highway and Candler Road corridors; and continued support of transit-oriented developments. The amendment also includes dates for the refurbishment of eight DeKalb County MARTA stations and says about 350 local bus stations will be upgraded by 2024.
“We are making a significant investment in DeKalb,” Melissa Mullinax, chief of staff to MARTA general manager Jeff Parker, said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.
Rader, meanwhile, asked what recourse the county would have if MARTA failed to deliver on projects altogether or in their promised time frames. County attorney Viviane Ernstes said it would likely be difficult for DeKalb to take successful legal action.
Commissioner Larry Johnson proposed that MARTA provide quarterly budget updates to DeKalb, an idea to which transit agency officials seemed amenable. Johnson also suggested that the commission adopt regular resolutions outlining what it expects from MARTA in exchange for the county’s financial commitment.
Fellow commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson called that “a great idea and absolutely necessary.”
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