The AJC reported just moments ago (the immediacy of the internet is so dramatic isn’t it?) that the DeKalb County Commission has voted to use $36 million in Federal Stimulus bonds (with subsidized interest), instead of pass them up, as was originally reported a couple weeks back.

According to an earlier AJC article the cash breakdown will be…

• $29.5 million for water and sewer upgrades (A drop in the water-system bucket for sure.  You’ll still see a huge hike in your water rates in the coming years.)
• $4 million to renovate the Recorders Court
• $1.5 million for a new building to relocate the DeKalb Police Department from Dunwoody to “the Druid Hills area”.
• $1 million to build a family protection center

The money suddenly became open to new possibilities when the GM plant redevelopment deal fell through.

Jill Chambers arguments against MARTA seem to rely on the assumption that NO ONE is paying attention.

“Every year they say they’re going over a cliff and there’s going to be a crisis, and yet MARTA’s running just fine,” Chambers said. “You can almost cut and paste the press release from the year before.”

I guess she’s forgotten about MARTA’s $25 million federal stimulus bailout this past year.  Perhaps we should just let the fed continue to pick-up MARTA’s tab from here on out.

Please.

Can we just drop the guise that there’s an actual debate going on here about how to best manage MARTA and get down to brass tacks?  If the MARTA acronym makes your stomach turn and you wish it would just hurry up and die already then let’s have THAT debate.

Why does the AJC continue to quote Chambers without challenging these baseless statements?  In an effort to write an “objective” piece they seem to abandon common sense.

h/t: Terminal Station

Here’s a breakdown of how City Schools of Decatur plan to use the roughly $1.1 million in federal stimulus money it will receive this year.  (Data and details taken from Action Item D from the July 14th agenda)

$444,100 - (Salary and benefits)  “2.5 regular education paraprofessionals from Oakhurst, 2.5 regular education paraprofessionals from Winnona Park, and 2 regular education paraprofessionals from Clairemont to the federal stimulus account codes. Also, 1 K-3 spanish teacher from each elementary school will be coded to federal stimulus funding.”

$18,000 - (supplemental pay items) District staff with 5 or more day reduction will have up to 4 days restored “About 45% of the employees in this category requested additional days to be able to complete certain tasks.”

$75,000 – City of Decatur After School program

$10,000 -  system professional learning

$125,000 – 50% of additional operating expenditures allocation – “$55,000 for instructional materials and supplies, $50,000 for instructional technology (primarily ActivBoards), $10,000 for professional learning fees and travel, and $10,000 for media books and materials.”

$25,000 – rising 9th grade leadership camp

$178,900 - salary and benefits for “2 of the learning lab teachers at the high school, a part-time IB coordinator at the high school, and the rising 9th grade leadership camp”

$228,300 – part-time RTI specialist, an inclusion teacher at the middle school, a new self-contained teacher at the middle school, a new paraprofessional to support the new inclusion teacher, and a paraprofessional at Glennwood.

$10,000 - occupational and physical therapy services

$5,000 – early childhood supplemental services

$5,000 – assistive/adaptive instructional technology equipment

$3,200 – GNETS

$10,000 - professional learning fees and travel

Today, the ARC voted in favor of their plan to redirect $25 million in federal stimulus dollars to help bridge MARTA’s crippling budget shortfall that threatened to close down services for entire days of the week.

In doing so, ARC came to the rescue of not only MARTA and it’s riders, but also inadvertently Georgia lawmakers , who’s inability to pass a number of important measures this session was just beginning to gain some serious traction in the press behind this massive MARTA fumble.

Not only were rail-noodling Dems up in arms, but so was all of Atlanta’s business community, who knew full well the importance of public transportation if Atlanta (and Georgia) wished to compete in something we like to call “the global economy.”

It was just getting good.  Pissed lawmakers were giving the inside scoop on committee meetings,  MARTA was calling for special sessions, we had the House Majority Leader on record saying he went to Disney World more often than he rode MARTA (and therefore couldn’t see the benefits to his Isle of Retirement (St. Simons.)

Those were the days.  We were all pissed and we could smell the blood.  It was going to be an embarrassment to end all embarrassments.  One that might actually shame the legislature into action – since rational argument had long ago stopped having any effect.

But then ARC made their announcement that they had figured out a way to help MARTA through the year with the help of stimulus funding and all the press simply…vanished.  The hounds were called back to the house, the horses led back to the barn.

Now, as the ARC votes in favor of formalizing the MARTA bailout by giving it $25 million for “preventive maintenance” (which MARTA will repay with $25 million in “capital improvements” around MARTA stations), transit advocates are cheering with a pit in their stomachs.

Happy the city isn’t being saddled with a public transportation system that keeps the hours of a Chik-Fil-A, everyone is now wondering if the legislature learned it’s lesson.  Or have they instead learned that when they do nothing, someone else will clean up their mess?

With its generally spoiled 4-year old mentality, I’m going with the latter.

First on DM

MJK writes in…

The ARC transportation policy committee just voted to explore the possibility of using up to $25 million of the remaining Federal Stimulus funds to plug the MARTA operating gap thus avoiding draconian service cuts. It will be [made] official during the May Board meeting.

Trying to confirm what stimulus money we’re talking about here.  Is this the remaining mass transit funding from the federal stimulus package?