Archive | August, 2011
Deal: No deal to move TIA tax vote
25 AugIt appeared briefly that an agreement had been reached on moving the regional transportation tax referendum from July to November, but Gov. Nathan Deal announced late Wednesday that the issue had been dropped from the General Assembly’s special session agenda.
Deal said in a statement that, although he believes it’s important to allow as many voters as possible to participate in the vote on the proposed one-percent sales tax, “it will take too much time to reach a consensus on changing the date.”
“It’s best for taxpayers,” Deal said, “that we not let this special session drag on. Redistricting was our priority, and we have delivered a great product.”
The last opportunity for supporters of the measure to work on getting the date moved will come during the regular legislative session, which begins in January.
H/T to AJC Political Insider
Working Weekend for the Roundtable
13 AugHaving missed the original deadline set to nip and tuck the transportation “wish list” down to size, the Atlanta Regional Roundtable’s executive committee will work for the next three days to finalize the list by Monday afternoon.
The executive committee’s voting members are B.J. Mathis of the Henry County Commission, Tom Worthan of the Douglas County Commission, Mayor Bill Floyd of Decatur, Mayor Mark Mathews of Kennesaw and Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta. Mayor Bucky Johnson of Norcross is the group’s chairman.
As it stands, the 119-item list contains about $6.6 billion in transportation projects – $420 million more than the proposed one-percent regional sales tax is expected to generate during the 10 years it would be in effect.
The legislation allowing a referendum on the transportation tax says that a draft list of projects must be completed by Aug. 15, but doesn’t specify what would happen if that deadline isn’t met. A final draft of the list is to be completed by Oct. 15 and the referendum will be put before voters next year. Legislators will decide during the upcoming special session whether to move the date for the referendum from July to November.
Food Truck Wednesdays Downtown
10 AugIf you’re a downtown worker or student wondering what all the food truck fuss is about, but you can’t fit truck tracking into your schedule, Food Truck Wednesdays puts the food where you are.
The convoy of mobile meal vendors sets up Wednesdays on the Lower Alabama Street plaza at Underground Atlanta from 11 a.m. to 2 pm. This week’s group included Tamale Queen, Tex’s Tacos, Hail Caesar, King of Pops, Honeysuckle Gelato, The Fry Guy and Sweet Auburn Barbecue.
The Oppidan Omnibus 