Pennies are often given short shrift. Tossed on countertops, hidden between sofa cushions or waiting in change jars, their value is rarely recognized. However, Atlanta’s citizens are well aware of a penny’s value.
As of today, they have generously voted to pay a penny each to Atlanta Public Schools and MARTA. As of Tuesday, they may have renewed the MOST (Municipal Option Sales Tax) to help fund Atlanta’s water-sewer consent decree work. And, depending on the outcome of a July 2012 referendum, another penny for local and regional transportation projects (T-SPLOST). This would bring the sales tax rate within the city to almost 10 percent.
The organizations and projects funded by these pennies are paramount. But the negative cumulative effect of a 9 percent sales tax is undeniable. The Catch-22 is that without these sales taxes Atlanta risks losing its regional, national and global competitive edge. With them, we risk deterring economic development.
The tax burden would be easier to bear if future pennies were repurposed to support shared and prioritized capital and public works projects.
For example, the necessity of an Atlanta Public Schools sales tax has decreased substantially since it was initiated some 12 years ago. Originally slated for only two renewals, it is now in its fourth, yet it is funding a school system with a student population that has shrunk by 50 percent since the E-SPLOST’s inception. Shouldn’t this lessen the need for large capital improvements worthy of a sales tax? As for the water-sewer MOST penny, the more expediently the city completes its federally mandated projects, the more quickly we could possibly use that penny to address our $1 billion backlog of dire infrastructure needs.
Whether the T-SPLOST passes in July or not, we will still need hundreds of millions of dollars more to address our infrastructure needs.
What I see as an achievable goal, one that would continue to fund these projects yet bring some tax relief and increase efficiency, is the repurposing of the MOST and E-SPLOST pennies for the mutual benefit of the citizens of Atlanta.
Recognizing that modernized infrastructure, public transport and police and fire forces benefit Atlanta’s schools and that updated school buildings and well-educated students benefit the city at large, the two taxes should be combined to create one capital and infrastructure improvements fund. With a reprioritization of projects, the two pennies could be reduced to 1.5 or 1.25 cents.
With APS’ population decreasing and demands on Atlanta’s services increasing or remaining steady, this could be a more efficient way to use less of both pennies while still meeting acknowledged needs. We need to prepare for the day when we can repurpose these pennies. Pennies don’t come from heaven, they come from people’s pocketbooks.
Michael Julian Bond is an Atlanta city councilman.
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