Thirteen hours after the Clayton County Commission voted to put a half-cent MARTA referendum on the ballot in November, the MARTA board met Wednesday morning and said it wasn’t interested: Clayton voters would have to be given the choice of adopting a full penny sales tax for transit, or they would be given no choice at all.
Clayton leaders now have until Sunday to make the deal — that’s the deadline for getting something on the ballot for the general election — or Clayton will remain the only core metro county with no bus or train service.
So commission Chairman Jeff Turner has called a special meeting for Saturday to ask the board to reconsider.
Turner, a strong supporter of the full-penny option, needs three of the commission’s five votes. At Tuesday’s meeting, he only had two.
“I’m still optimistic,” Turner said. “I’m hoping one of the three, if not all three, will re-evaluate and listen to what the citizens are asking for.”
Subscribers may read the full story on our premium website, plus a graphic showing public opinion toward MARTA in Clayton, on myajc.com.
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