Big money for the Beltline
January 24, 2007 at 4:26 pm by Web Editor in NewsBackers of the Beltline, a proposed 22-mile loop of transit and trails that would circle intown Atlanta, scored big yesterday when a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled that the funding mechanism for the project is, in fact, legal.
Barring an appeal from the individuals who brought the challenge, the Beltline is now poised to rake in some serious cash.
Last year, Atlanta City Council, the Fulton County Commission, and the Atlanta school board approved the funding source Ñ a tax-allocation district, or TAD Ñ for the estimated $2.4 billion project. The TAD permits the city to borrow from future tax revenue that will be generated by rising property values. It is expected to raise $1.7 billion toward the cost of the project, with the rest coming from private donations and, the city hopes, federal funding.
Challengers of TAD claim that it has the potential to drain future funds that would pay for basic services, such as schools. Proponents say that those future funds actually would be less bountiful without a project like the Beltline driving up property values.
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