Redevelopment Referendum Vote No

In addition to the Park Bonds, our November Ballot will include a Redevelopment Referendum vote. This allows City Council to authorize the creation of Tax Authorization Districts (TADs) without a citizen vote. The fact that this was put on the ballot prior to any explanation of what it is, is slimy. We urge you to vote NO.
Look up Georgia’s Redevelopment Powers Law Research Atlanta, GSU. Aysps.gsu.edu and Atlanta Tax Allocation Districts and Beltline Tax Allocation District and Campbellton Road Tax Allocation District.

These TADs are created to form and fund projects. TADs can issue Bonds and have Eminent Domain powers. They act independently. They are not elected or accountable. Their sole purpose is to find distressed properties, buy them, forcibly if necessary, and develop them into properties with higher tax value. They provide a city with perpetual redevelopment activities

The fact that TADs can issue Bonds, means they can create city debt without a vote. Bonds cost double because of interest cost and half the debt goes into the paper shredder. TADs have expensive staff working with developers and Bond lawyers and market makers to plan, borrow and implement these projects without a citizen vote.
Rather than trust development to free enterprise, where the investors and developers risk their own money, TADs allow for the City to hold the bag if the TAD plan fails. TADs set up a permanent bailout for developers. TADs allow the City to control all development through its TADs and Land Use Master Plan and Zoning.

TADs use hand picked panels of citizens (see useful idiots) to respond to leaded questions, using the Delphi Technique, so they can say the citizens wanted these changes. TAD projects can include boondoggles like the Beltline and commercial business districts like Campbellton Road.

Problems

TADs usurp property rights. When investors risk their own money to develop properties and locate businesses, we have free enterprise. Investors are much more careful with their businesses if they take the losses if it fails. Cities can now obtain the legal right to end free enterprise.

TAD projects turn into disasters. When TADs risk your money to develop properties, they tend to become expensive, low use properties, because those small groups involved make impractical decisions and consumers don’t support it. The HOV and Toll Lanes are good examples of small groups making government decisions that voters don’t support.

Eminent Domain should not be expanded beyond making room for roads and highways. Expanding it to let an unelected group take your property for commercial purposes, to increase the tax value of your property is not where we need to go. TADs violate private property rights to build something else on what was your land, so they can get higher tax revenue. Most citizens cannot afford the legal bills to defend themselves from this abuse. TADs form to attack specific projects using “public private partnerships”. This is a scam..

All decisions to assume debt should be reserved to citizens, voting at the ballot box. Nor an unelected group authorized by a City Council. TADs can borrow money on their own and when a project fails the city is left holding the bag. It is a sleazy, wrong-headed, back door path to city debt and citizen abuse It involves private developers and the city’s economic development group picking projects and borrowing money with full authority and no transparency. The Dunwoody City Council may have slipped the TAD vote on the Ballot in case the Park Bonds fail to pass.

We urge a NO vote on this sleazy, risky “Economic Development” scam. If developers want to develop something, they can go see their banker. Developers now can contact property owners to ask if they would sell their property. Owners are free to say yes or no and that’s the way it should be.

This is how we ended up with $16 billion Toll Lanes that are too confusing and dangerous to use. This was approved by ARC without our approval. A private company “partnered” with ARC, a nonelected tax authorizing appointed commission. TADs create boondoggles. Toll Lanes are a scam.

Tax Authorizing Districts in Atlanta

Atlanta has established several TADs. They are: Atlantic Station, BeltLine, Campbellton Road, Eastside, Hollowell/ML King, Metropolitan Parkway,Perry-Bolton, Princeton Lakes, Stadium Area, Westside

Redevelopment Powers Act passed by the Georgia Legislature allows cities to ask the voters if they can create these TADs. TADs are a bad idea whose job is to look for and spend your money on other bad ideas.

To quote a wise friend: “We are too young a city and do not have enough badly decayed areas to warrant a TAD. The ones we have are small and the free market should be able to handle them.”

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader