State Supreme Court to hear Beltline funding arguments
September 24, 2007 at 10:10 am by Thomas Wheatley in NewsTomorrow will be a deciding factor in the push to get the Beltline underway. John Woodham, as discussed in these pages, will have his day in state Supreme Court tomorrow at 10 a.m. Woodham has argued that the funding strategy proposed for the Beltline — a tax allocation district that will freeze property taxes in a specified region and use the incremental gains generated to fund the project — sluices cash from schools and uses the funds for non-educational purposes, a violation of the state Constitution. It is the first time, even though several other projects have used the TAD strategy — such as Atlantic Station and Princeton Lakes — that it has been challenged in court. The TAD funds for the Beltline are estimated to make up $1.7 billion of the project — half of the total cost.
For the court docket, go here. Jane Hansen, the state Supreme Court public information officer, said the court will webcast the hearing live. Although a link is not available at the moment, she said it would appear here tomorrow. CL will also be there and keep you updated. The hearing is open to the public, so if you’d like to sit in, go here for directions to the Judicial Building downtown.
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