Fayette County “Birthplace” of Opposition to Transportation Tax
Decatur Metro | May 23, 2011 | 12:45 pmFayette County is home to 106,000 folks. DeKalb County is nearly 7 times that size and Fulton is nearly 10 times larger. That said, how important is this?
[Fayette] county’s green landscape — offering a feeling of seclusion — has helped make Fayette the birthplace of opposition to paying an extra penny in sales tax for transportation improvements both in and out of the county. The 10-county region will vote in 2012 on whether to tax itself for such projects.
It’s a sentiment so strong that it recently helped unseat a County Commission chairman. And though Fayette is on the lower end of the region’s spectrum when it comes to sales tax revenue and number of voters, it could have extra influence in whether the referendum passes.
Harold Bost, who heads the county’s Issues Tea Party, is organizing opposition to the penny tax across the metro area.
Show me huge opposition turnouts at Bost’s events in Gwinnett and Cobb and then maybe I’ll start getting concerned.
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My first year living here I worked in the AJC’s Fayetteville office. It’s the epitome of the “I’ve got mine” exurb. The average household income is either No. 1 or No. 2 in the state because of all of the Delta pilots (read: ex-military officers) and it also has some of the state’s top schools. As long as people can get to the airport and back, they’re not going to worry about anyone else. I think counties that are more diverse, economically and otherwise, with citizens who actually work downtown (Gwinnett, in particular) will feel and vote differently.
The TSPLOST is going to need substantial majorities in Fulton and DeKalb and at least a close split in Gwinnett and Cobb in order to pass. I think the odds are long for either happening. I’m not certain that I’m going to vote to pay another penny if none of it goes toward existing MARTA operations, and I know there are others intown who feel the same way.
As for Fayette, their votes will probably be more than canceled out by Clayton anyway.
I commented on this subject before and, as John pointed out, the folks in Fayette think they’re on an island like Gwinnett thought they were twenty years ago and mean to keep it that way. But, as brianc reminds us, their major boundary is with Clayton County, and, just like Gwinnett, it may come back to bite them with diversity they don’t expect.
“Welcome to metro Atlanta. Here, on the right side of the plane, you will see the huge crater from the region shooting itself collectively in the foot because nobody can agree on anything.”
You may discount their heft at the polls and their roundtable seats, but vocal minorities can exert influence. The fact that neighboring counties could force the tax upon them may prove highly agitating. Also, while repeal seems unlikely, we shouldn’t rule out more anti-Atlanta amendments.
A valid point, but I didn’t say they were inconsequential. I was more questioning the status the AJC had deemed upon them at this early stage.
Saying Fayette “could have extra influence in whether the referendum passes” seemed to me like an proven hypothetical that does little more than provide justification for covering it.
I’d much rather see an anti-Atlanta amendments article! Now that’d be good fodder!
I thought this was the most striking portion: “[Peachtree City Mayor Don] Haddix last fall pushed unsuccessfully to have Fayette officially removed from the metro Atlanta region. The effort failed, by a single vote. But since then, opposition has grown in size and volume.”
Is there a way that we can vote to kick them out?
I’m currently against it. I am paying for no more extra roads, and no more extra lanes on roads, until intown transit is effectively addressed. This whole thing as currently presented is a bait-and-switch — vote aye for MARTA, get money for roads.
Fayette County doesn’t care about me, and I don’t care about them. They’re going to choke on their car exhaust long before we do in Decatur.
Thank you Tea Party for your 19th century thinking.
They are advocating a return to horse-drawn carriages? Wow, those folks are really green. I mean, I’m all for reduced emissions, but that’s going a bit far.
I just LOLed at this. Good ‘un, DEM!
I’m personally amazed at those who believe the extra 1percent will make a difference. Forget the “I have mine” arguments. The issue is how absolutely inefficient the spending is of any and all tax dollars. There aren’t a lot of shining examples of wonderful public transportation spending in Atlanta. We’ve had a long time to build the kind of transit you can find in other world-class metro areas and have failed. Why should anyone believe that more dollars will mean better alternatives? It will only mean the inefficient hacks simply have more money to be reckless with. I am incapable of seeing how more taxes are the answer.
The extra 1 cent probably won’t make a difference. That’s why they’ll be back for another cent before too long. Don’t forget — the government doesn’t work for you, you work for it.
What would you suggest? A shift to privatized infrastructure? Or a swing away from private interests (focusing more on public benefit)?
Is the Peachtree streetcar effort indicative that MARTA failed to deliver for Peachtree property interests? Or is it a sign that it succeeded?
1 % tax increase proposal is another sub par solution to address a tough issue. The problem is that no one wants to really call the issue for what it REALLY is and that is one segment of the population subsidizing poor transportation decisions by another segment of the population. That’s traditionally been a breakdown of urban vs suburban groups but it’s really more complicated than that.
Look no further than today’s AJC for the root of our problem and consequently the solution.
http://blogs.ajc.com/business-beat/2011/05/24/metro-atlanta-is-no-3-in-gas-guzzling/
That is we drive too much and consume too much fuel. And, that is a a combination of commuting too far, driving cars that get poor gas mileage, traffic (and consequently idling), poor transportation alternatives and a myriad of other factors.
The real solution is a higher transportation tax (or simply raise the current one) so that the burden is shifted to those who use it the most. You want wot commute 50 miles each way to work? Fine. You have a car that gets 12 MPG – your decision. But, we shouldn’t have to subsidize those decisions.
The solution is politically unpopular but it’s actually better than heaping ANOTHER 1% tax on the citizens of Atlanta. Quite frankly, i’m tired of support Marta, Grady, etc… for others.
+1
What would happen if we only allowed access to MARTA or Grady’s Advanced Trauma, Cardiac, Burn, or Stroke Intensive Care units to residents of counties that properly subsidize the non-reimbursable costs of those services! Grady’s Marcus Neurologic intensive Care Unit is currently the best-equipped and staffed in the country. If you are transferred out of your level 1 local hospital for stroke, burns, trauma, and many other life-threatening conditions, Grady is where you want to be transferred. Are most Georgia counties providing adequate support to Grady for those services used by their residents that aren’t reimbursed by private insurance or Medicaid/Medicare? Hmmm…..
There is already a federal gas tax, so the more miles you drive, the more you pay. In what way are you subsidizing commuting decisions? By not taxing them even more? I understand that roads are built with public money but it seems a stretch to say they are built to subsidize those who commute 50 miles vs 5 or 10. Heck, I don’t even drive to work, I still have to use the roads.
You know as well as I do that the federal gas tax only pays for 50% of all road work. (And yes, I know we’re both in agreement that it should be raised.)
As for the other part of CB’s argument, it seems logical that the longer your commute, the larger your total contribution to wear and tear on the roads.
I think DEM is speaking to the importance of the road network, even for indirect use.
Right, but if even 50% of road expense comes from the gas tax, and the gas tax is a good proxy for a usage-based fee, then heavy drivers are paying more. (Not to mention that they are paying more on all toll roads too.) Is it proportional to how much more “road” they are using? I don’t know, and doubt anyone does. In terms of wear and tear, I suspect that what drives most of that is weather and heavy trucks as opposed to passenger vehicles.
As for raising the gas tax, it is a good idea in isolation, though not combined with other tax increases. In any event, I don’t see it on the radar screen. We are a nation of 3 year olds when it comes to gas — every increase in oil prices seems to lead to withhunts for speculators, and we’ve even gone so far as to make releases from the strategic petroleum reserve to stem rising prices. With oil already at $100, I don’t see any support for more gas taxes anytime soon. But if we rally are running low in cheap, easy to find oil, then we don’t need more tax to keep usage down. $5/gallon gas will do a pretty decent job of it.
Agree. Increase gasoline tax to pay for transportation improvements OTP. Why is a sales tax used for transportation? That makes no sense to me.
Who cares about Fayette county? I don’t even know where that is. Focus on intown transportation solutions.
A sales tax is being used as the source because the Gold Dome folks don’t have the guts to even approach any other kind of usage based tax, like the gas tax or a mileage-based license tax. BTW, there is a lot of precedent for using a sales tax for transportation – almost every large city in the country does.
I think it’s a mistake to blame [the collective choices of] others ahead of the web of contributing factors. And pricing failures abound; it’s not just gas.
Where will the good transportation alternatives come from?
Pretty good Op-Ed by REP. JERRY NADLER that frames the larger picture of transportation. His thoughts are you need more than just a gas tax to fund transportation. (and you actually need to index the gas tax – pretty important point). Also, note the ULIs study that we need almost $2 trillion just to make basic repairs to our critical infrastructure.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55449.html
Too bad we’re broke and don’t have $2 trillion.
You supporters of the TSPLOST just keep being not concerned about the passage of the TSPLOST. Just keep on thinking that it will sail to passage. This is an issue that tea parties throughout the Metro area will be heavily involved with next year. Right now tea party activists are like ducks on a pond regarding the TSPLOST. On the surface, everything is calm. Beneath the surface, we are paddling vigorously preparing to do battle next year.
It will be a big priority next year. We defeated the trauma care tax without spending one dime. We will do the same with TSPLOST.
Debbie Dooley
Georgia Tea Party Patriots State Co-ordinator
I wonder that you all seem to miss the issue that the government is scamming us. Roads have always been paid for from our taxes. Some ‘smart’ politician got the idea that the could create a commission to ‘give the people’ more voice and make them think it was a good idea for them to raise more taxes on themselves. Don’t be fools!
We pay enough taxes! The roads can be built if government will start prioritizing and stop funding less important items.
We all want better transportation but this method is a scam. And you do have to admit that Atlanta is positioned to get others to pay for their problems. There is very good reason to OPPOSE this TSPLOST!
Some examples, please, of “less important items”.
I see, Steve. You contend that everything our state government is doing is essential such that they cannot do the job that they have done for over a hundred years now? I have to give you a list to convince you. Really?
Yes.