Readers write
Global deal can solve the Atlanta–Fulton standoff
Atlanta and Fulton County do not need another public fight over Tax Allocation Districts, Atlanta City Detention Center and the jail. They need a global deal.
Fulton voted 4-1-1 not to participate in Atlanta’s proposed Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative TAD extensions. I first moved to hold the item for more information from county and city staff and Invest Atlanta, then cast the sole no vote. Because the adopted legislation requires five affirmative votes for future participation, any new proposal must be materially different.
A path forward should include three linked pieces. First, Atlanta should transfer ACDC to Fulton at no acquisition cost while preserving diversion and agreed city uses. Fulton expects about $75 million in renovations and may otherwise face roughly $200 million in temporary-facility and alternate-housing costs. Durable county control and the sheriff’s approval of operational terms are essential.
Second, Atlanta’s request for up to $200 million for the Atrium Health–Morehouse School of Medicine hospital must be coordinated with Fulton’s Union City emergency room and Grady South Fulton hospital commitments. We need complementary healthcare plans, not competing ones.
Third, the TAD formula must be fair. The county base should reset to the value that would return at expiration. Fulton should receive the first growth layer; the city and Invest Atlanta can receive the next; additional growth can be negotiated.
A one- or two-day mediation led by a mutually acceptable senior figure could produce a term sheet. This is not about personalities. It is about a defensible agreement for public safety, healthcare and neighborhood investment—not an approved county proposal.
COMMISSIONER MARVIN ARRINGTON JR., ATLANTA
FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, DISTRICT 5
Right to vote is in critical condition
My wife and I completed our online applications for voting by absentee ballot. And, once again, our applications were denied. Previously, the election website indicated that our addresses were incorrect, despite our having lived at the same address for over 20 years. As such, I hand-delivered our applications with additional and duplicate documentation.
This year, again in both our cases, the website denied our applications, stating that our driver’s license numbers were incorrect and therefore invalid. These are the same licenses we have had since 2019. The Gwinnett election office told us that we should complete a printed mail-in voter’s application and include copies of our licenses if we wanted to receive our ballots.
Curious as to what future roadblocks are in the works, if voting has not been declared unconstitutional.
J.M. SAULSON, SNELLVILLE