Additional Atlanta Infrastructure Bond Public Information Sessions Announced

By Justin Ove

The City of Atlanta has completed its initial round of public hearings concerning the proposed $250 million infrastructure bond and wants to share its findings through a series of information sessions during the month of September.

The first information session was held on Sept. 9 at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, reports the city’s website. The next session is on Thursday, Sept. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Atlanta Speech School at 3160 Northside Parkway. Additional sessions will be held on Sept. 16, 18, 23, 25, and 30. The city reserves the right to schedule additional sessions.

Atlanta residents turned out to share their input on the priority of projects and their criteria during the first round of public hearings earlier this year. City staff have compiled this data and is now able to share the results of their findings through the next round of information sessions, which began this week.

According to the city’s website, there is an approximate backlog of $1 billion in infrastructure improvement projectsvital to the city. Some of these backlogged projects include bridge replacements, street resurfacing, sidewalks and curbs, street lights, and public safety building improvements.

In order to avoid raising city taxes to pay for these projects, voters will have a chance to vote on the issuance of $250 million in infrastructure bonds to begin clearing some of the backlogged projects. In addition, the mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Waste & Efficiency in Government discovered additional cost-cutting measures that allow the city to improve its infrastructure without increasing property taxes.

Voters will be called to the polls in March, 2015 to decide whether or not the city will issue the infrastructure bond. The city’s website estimates issuance of the bonds will cost somewhere between $3 million and $5 million. Estimates report that debt service payments on the bonds would cost approximately $16.5 million per year.

For more information on the infrastructure bond, please visit the City of Atlanta’s website.