Atlanta City Council members approved the Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, a public-private collaboration to address underserved neighborhoods, in a 13-2 vote – but there’s a catch.
The NRI will go into effect when and if Atlanta Public Schools or the Fulton County Commission gives Mayor Andre Dickens the green light to take out bonds.
Tax allocation districts (TADs) are defined areas, whether a commercial center like the Beltline or a neighborhood like South Downtown. Property tax is reinvested into infrastructure, development projects, and redevelopment rather than schools.
Open for a defined amount of time, TADs are meant to provide a windfall for schools when they are complete. When Atlantic Station’s TAD closed in 2024, the school system saw about a $16 million boost, closing the budget gap. School board Vice Chair Ken Zeff voted against the 30-year TAD extension in March, claiming that extending the Beltline TAD would cost APS approximately $80 million annually.
The NRI will be funded by TADs through Invest Atlanta, the official economic development authority for the City of Atlanta.
Why is the NRI controversial?
At budget review meetings in May and June, public commenters questioned the validity of the NRI’s goal to end generational poverty, combat displacement, and create equitable neighborhoods.
Rohit Malhotra, a civic leader and policy expert, said there’s “a deep and concerning culture of performative hypocrisy in Atlanta.” He said TADs are “specifically designed to raise property taxes, a tool that has historically created displacement for so many families.”
“There is no evidence, there is no research, there is no data that says that this tool solves inequality. In fact, data shows the opposite,” Malhotra said. “The truth is that the entity that will be hit hardest by this is our Atlanta Public School system.”
Royce Mann, an APS graduate, agreed.
“If we move forward with this plan without APS, who pays 50% of the funds, the goals will not be achievable. And if we move forward with this plan with APS, then APS’s goals of achieving universal pre-K [and] expanding college and career-based education will be unachievable,” Mann said.
Community advocate Rodney Mullins said the NRI will be “a nail in the coffin” of many communities because residents haven’t read the legislation.
Council members Liliana Bakhtiari and Kelsea Bond voted against the NRI. Bond said there are areas across the city in dire need of funding, not just those inside a TAD.
“I do not believe that [TADs are] capable of repairing these historic and very, very real inequalities that exist in the city of Atlanta,” Bond said. “I wish that the time had been taken to actually deliberate and use research and data to determine what that mechanism is, but this is not it.”
Council member Antonio Lewis, who voted in favor of TADs, said the proposal includes changes made by conversations held with colleagues and constituents.
“This proposal moves us closer to addressing the longstanding issues and disparities in our city,” Lewis said. “It creates an opportunity to bring critical infrastructures to the heart of Atlanta and to the people that need it most, and it will close those gaps that have existed for generations.”
What’s next for the NRI?
A new TAD Investment Review Committee will review agreements, assess community benefits, and issue a report to the Atlanta School Board by Oct. 1.
Changes made to the original plan include adding an anti-displacement clause and allowing the Beltline and Perry Bolton TADs to expire in 2031 and 2041. Westside, Eastside, Campbellton Road, Hollowell-Martin Luther King Jr., Metropolitan Parkway and Stadium TADs will be extended another 30 years.
“Many people came and spoke during public comment today, hoping and praying that this initiative will not continue to displace Atlanta residents, and that is exactly what I’m afraid of,” Bond said. “Decades of TADs have failed because of loose guard rails or no guardrails at all because they lacked specific and clear goals. What we are voting on today does not contain redevelopment plans. It does not contain clear project lists.”
Bond plans to focus on accountability, ensuring the TADs are benefitting Atlanta residents – not developers, real estate companies and corporations.
“I hope that I’m wrong about what this legislation will do,” Bond said.
Council member Michael Julian Bond had the last word before the vote.
“This is just as important as World Cup, just as important as the Olympics, just as important as every other major initiative that the City of Atlanta has ever enacted, going all the way back to Mayor Hartsfield buying a racetrack and turning it into an airport,” Michael Julian Bond said.
After the vote, Dickens addressed the council about the NRI.
“For too long, we have lived with the reality of two Atlantas, where a child’s ZIP code can determine their access to housing, education, economic opportunity and even how long they are expected to live,” he said. “That is unacceptable, and today we are taking historic action to close the book on a tale of two cities.”
“The Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative is about closing those gaps. It is about investing in the neighborhoods and people who built Atlanta, protecting legacy residents, creating pathways to prosperity, and making sure every child — no matter where they are born — has the chance to dream, grow, and thrive,” Dickens added.
