Atlanta City Councilmember Natalyn Archibong, at the request of Council President Ceasar C. Mitchell, has submitted an ordinance calling for the city to set aside up to $13.5 million to pay back debt owed to Atlanta Public Schools (APS) by the Atlanta BeltLine.

The multibillion dollar BeltLine project is primarily funded by a Tax Allocation District, or TAD, which uses a portion of property tax revenue that would otherwise be allocated to the Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County.
In return for reallocation of tax revenues for BeltLine development, the city agreed to make $162 million in fixed payments from the Beltline TAD to the school district in exchange for using a portion of property tax revenue for Beltline development.

Due to sluggish economic growth over the last several years, the Beltline is currently behind on a $6.75 million payment that was due in January 2014, and is set to owe an additional $6.75 million this month. Though the Beltline is operated by the nonprofit Atlanta Beltline Inc., the city manages the Beltline TAD.

Archibong’s legislation was finalized during a lengthy executive session following Monday’s regular council meeting and has been referred to the Finance Committee for review.

APS has threatened legal action to recoup the money, while angry parents have also written to the council and Mayor Kasim Reed urging quick repayment. Reed has accused Mitchell of interfering in negotiations with APS over the repayment after the city council president penned a column for the SaportaReport on the issue.

Collin Kelley is the executive editor of Atlanta Intown, Georgia Voice, and the Rough Draft newsletter. He has been a journalist for nearly four decades and is also an award-winning poet and novelist.

2 replies on “Legislation introduced to pay BeltLine debt”

  1. Thank you city council members for standing up for the schools and for the enforcement of a legally binding contract that was entered into good faith by all parties. The mayor is shameful, supporting the violation of the law and without any ground to stand on. The mayor is 100% in the wrong here and needs to drop his ego and admit defeat.

  2. Thank you city council members for standing up for the schools and for the enforcement of a legally binding contract that was entered into good faith by all parties. The mayor is shameful, supporting the violation of the law and without any ground to stand on. The mayor is 100% in the wrong here and needs to drop his ego and admit defeat.

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