Fresh Loaf

Georgia roadbuilders — well, Marietta, Ga.-based C.W. Matthews, in particular — had something to smile about yesterday. Gov. Sonny Perdue, flanked by newly elected Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Vance Smith and U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, made the smoggy skies rain with Obamabucks on Tuesday as he kicked off the Peach State’s first foray into stimulus spending.

On Tuesday state and federal transportation officials gathered in Hapeville to celebrate the first stimulus-funded road project to go under construction in metro Atlanta, a repaving expected to pump $940,841 into the Georgia economy.

The project is to pave 4.2 miles of Ga. Hwy. 3, a commercial corridor in Clayton and Fulton counties near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Contractors said work is scheduled to begin Monday night.

C.W. Matthews scored the project because it is God.

Now, you can argue about the stimulus all day long. Hard truth though is that it’s here, so you best spend it wisely. And a new study by self-explanatory think tank Smart Growth America and its partners says, whoa, Georgia’s made some good choices in how it spends the cash.

The rest of the country? Meh.

(more…)

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Tax allocation districts, or TADs, are complicated issues and becoming increasingly popular. As of 2007, four cities in Georgia have utilized TADs — Atlanta, Acworth, East Point and Marietta. Atlantic Station? That was built largely thanks to a TAD. Here’s a good definition of what a TAD is and does, pulled from a recent study by the Livable Communities Coalition, an Atlanta-based policy group:

TADs have soared in popularity in recent years because they promise a relatively painless way to pay for public projects needed to lure or enhance private investment, especially in areas that might otherwise not attract such development. Bonds are typically issued to pay for the projects. The bonds are then repaid with property taxes generated by rising real estate values associated with the new development. As soon as the bonds are paid, the new tax revenues revert to cities, counties and schools.

So how might this morning’s decision by the state Supreme Court affect existing and future TADs? It’s highly unlikely a judge would want to go in and unravel existing TADs. Many have already cleared the bond-validation process. I received an interesting e-mail from a source that passed along a lawyer’s take on this morning’s decision. I’ve granted anonymity to both sources. Please keep in mind this is one lawyer’s opinion.

Existing TAD bonds should be OK, because in those cases the bond validation proceeding was concluded and not appealed. Under Georgia law, the validation hearing conclusively cures any potential defects in the bond issue, so that the purchasers of the bonds have the assurance they will be repaid.

Under the Woodham case, the conclusion of the validation hearing was appealed, so the bond issue may not go forward to the extent it includes the pledge of school tax revenues. There is nothing to prevent the “downsizing” of the bond issue to include only City and County revenues. So – the Woodham case effects the BeltLine bond issue that was the subject of the appealed validation hearing in Fulton Superior Court, as well as all future bond issues.

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