Nathan Deal: Ga. 400 tolls to come down by end of 2013
More later, but here’s the press release just issued – there’s no mention of it, but clearly the timing is intended to help the July 31 vote on the transportation sales tax:
Fulfilling his promise to commuters, Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that he will have the state pay off its bond debt on Dec. 1, 2013, and move rapidly after that to remove the Ga. 400 toll by the end of that year. This will stop collection four years earlier than previously planned.
“Ga. 400 commuters have paid more than their fair share already, and this is the earliest we can bring it down without paying a penalty for early repayment of the bonds,” Deal said. “When the Ga. 400 toll went up, the state of Georgia promised commuters that it wasn’t forever. If we don’t keep that promise, we lose the faith of the people. We face many challenges when it comes to paying for new capacity, particularly in the Atlanta region. There are no easy answers, no secret pots of money, but it is imperative that governments build the trust of their people. As your governor, I will keep the promises I make to you.”
The Ga. 400 toll was originally scheduled to come down after 20 years, ending in 2011. In 2010 – after then-candidate Deal promised to end the toll the following year – the state issued new bonds tied to the toll revenue in order to pay for needed improvements in the Ga. 400 corridor, including a new connector to I-85. The $40 million in new bonds were issued Dec. 1, 2010, and they mature June 1, 2017. But at the three-year mark the state can repay the bonds without a penalty. Further, the state needs time to plan for physically bringing down the gates and the dramatic restructuring that will be needed in the toll area.
“As I have said many times before: I inherited a situation where we could not bring down the gates immediately, and we face a situation where we would have to pay a penalty for early repayment,” Deal said. “This timeline gives commuters a finish line, while still allowing us to meet our obligations. Moving forward, we’ll need to continue to work on long-term solutions to congestion in the 400 corridor. And I look forward to doing that in a transparent fashion that commuters can trust.”
The governor’s proposal requires approval of the State Road and Tollway Authority.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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412 comments Add your comment
dottie
July 19th, 2012
3:33 pm
I am voting YES!!!!! It is not perfect, but it will help us move into the future!!!
George Washington
July 19th, 2012
3:34 pm
If it holds true, this is the local equivalent to the Berlin Wall coming down. “Mr. Deal, tear down this toll!”
Vote for your wallet or your community...
July 19th, 2012
3:38 pm
..that’s the REAL question and the choice before us. The musings of all the petty, misguided racial and special interest groups aside, this 3rd generation native knows that Atlanta has always thrived on the deeds of its citizens and their fabled good cheer and samaritanship. What was once termed “southern hospitality”.
The largely self-indulgent suburban electorate today, only knows it wants maintenance free yards, paint-free houses, drug-free youth, a mythical crime-free community, big box solutions and discount store prices. All without worrying if the remote control batteries will ever die.
However much the cronyism and back patting that can occur (and does in every form of public business) every single commitment to transportation and mobility that has been advanced in this region, has benefited everyone at some time and in some way. So suggest that – even if its business as-usual – would yield no common good, is to crawl back into a cave and stare longingly at the cold dark walls.
Floridian
July 19th, 2012
3:38 pm
Thanks Rip Torn, and Jeff, you validate my move from Florida to Georgia was a wise one indeed since there is intelligent life here.
Midtown Mom
July 19th, 2012
3:39 pm
@Jeff What do you mean tourists don’t come to Midtown?! I live in Midtown and people flood our neighborhood every weekend to go to Piedmont Park. I don’t know where they’re coming from for sure but I’d guess it is the suburbs where the taxes are nice and low and the parks are minimal. Our taxes and our Piedmont Park Conservancy membership fees pay for that park. If we could find a way to keep you people OTP, that would be great.
I’m going to vote yes on the TSPLOST because I believe it will be good for the economy of Atlanta–not because I want to make it easier for you people to go to our park.
VOTE YES!!!
July 19th, 2012
3:43 pm
@ THINK PEOPLE. Thank you sir. Very well said.
William
July 19th, 2012
3:48 pm
This is just a gimick. They say this now because everyone knows the tolls will never end just like the T-Splost will not go away after 10 years
Rip Torn
July 19th, 2012
3:48 pm
Vote for your wallet,
Good Idea, so we just go with it. Just don’t worry about the fact that we’re being ripped off and taken advantage of. Just shut up and go with it, because if we don’t we will be forced to “crawl back into a cave and stare longingly at the cold dark walls”… How about growing a pair and taking a stand against the cronyism and back patting that you obviously acknowledge? Oh is see that wouldn’t be the gentlemanly thing for a third generation Atlantan to do.
VOTE YES!!!
July 19th, 2012
3:53 pm
Here’s a little tidbit from the LAW (HB 277) for anyone that is worried about fraud, waste, and abuse.
48-8-249
(d) The commission shall maintain or cause to be maintained an adequate record-keeping system for each project funded by a special district transportation sales and use tax. An annual audit shall be paid for by each special district and conducted by an independent auditing firm as selected by the commission. Such audit shall include a schedule which shows for each such project the original estimated cost, the current estimated cost if it is not the original estimated cost, amounts expended in prior years, and amounts expended in the current year. Such audit shall verify and test expenditures sufficient to provide assurances that the schedule is fairly presented in relation to the financial statements. The audit report on the financial statements shall include an opinion, or disclaimer of opinion, as to whether the schedule is presented fairly in all material respects in relation to the financial statements taken as a whole.
48-8-251.
(a) There is created a Citizens Review Panel for each special district in which voters approved the levy of the special district sales and use tax to be composed of three citizen members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and two citizen members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. Each member must be a resident of the special district of which Citizens Review Panel they are appointed to serve.
(f) The panel shall be charged with review of the administration of the projects and programs included on the approved investment list. The panel may make such recommendations to and require such reports from the Department of Transportation, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, any other agency or instrumentality of the state, any political subdivision of the state, and any agency or instrumentality of such political subdivisions as it may deem appropriate and necessary from time to time in the interest of the region.
(g) Upon the completion of a project on the investment list, the panel shall annually review the specific public benefits identified in the investment list to ascertain the degree to which such benefits have been attained. This benefit review report shall be delivered to the director and the state revenue commissioner and shall be published on the website created pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-8-245.
(h) Beginning January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the panel shall provide a report to the General Assembly of its actions during the previous year. The report shall be available for public inspection on the website created pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Code Section 48-8-245. The report shall include, but not be limited to, an update on the progress on each project on the investment list for the region, including the amount of funds spent on each project.
VOTE YES!!!
July 19th, 2012
3:58 pm
Also if you’re concerned they aren’t thinking about the maintenance involved. That is included in the price of the projects:
48-8-242.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) ‘Commission’ means the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission;
(2) ‘Cost of project’ means:
(A) All costs of acquisition, by purchase or otherwise, construction, assembly, installation, modification, renovation, extension, rehabilitation, operation, or MAINTENANCE incurred in connection with any project of the special district or any part thereof;
henryfor
July 19th, 2012
4:03 pm
I am just glad all u idiots voting NO on here are the ones that stay home Tuesday. the plan goes out for many years and if you are really sincere about voicing your “educatef” comments then read the proposal 1st! I am from the south (not clayton county) and wish more were earmarked for here but when I go through north cobb, Decalb and others in the bottleneck I support them first.
You've got to be kidding!
July 19th, 2012
4:04 pm
to Vote Yes! Do you really believe that since it is written in the LAW that there will be GOOD oversight and reporting back to the citizens about how the projects are doing, that we should not “worry about fraud, waste and abuse”! You are more gullible than I thought. Don’t you remember the websight for the Obama stimulas spending LAW that promised to report back to us about how many jobs were created (or saved…whatever that means). It turned into a joke! Riddled with errors and misinformation. Totally useless, just like the many shovel ready projects that were promised. This is the same thing here. Just a bunch of lies to get us to vote ‘yes’. Don’t believe them folks. Demand better projects. Not just street cars down Auburn Ave at a cost of $55,000 per daily rider ($600,000,000 total).
THINK PEOPLE
July 19th, 2012
4:05 pm
@Rip Torn: I never said that. If you read his comment, na clearly did not know how HOT lanes worked. You seem to have missed the entire point of the HOT lanes. If the HOV lanes were already underused to begin with, it’s not changing much at all in terms of “adding congestion to other lanes.” In fact, now that single occupancy drivers have the option of using them, it should not only lessen congestion other lanes, but also provide a much better guarantee (nothing is “perfect”) of a shorter commute.
@Dr M and many others: What about the projects that do work? Why are people only targeting the bad? How do you think the first highways were built? Or even roads like 400, which is relatively new (their toll is a “tax”)… guess what? It WASN’T there before… How many of you complainers use it every day now? If you see it as a tax, PLEASE act as if it was never built and drive around Atlanta as if it wasn’t there… It’ll make it so much easier for those of us who want improvements to drive down.
Geez, focus on the negatives only, and nothing will ever get accomplished.
John
July 19th, 2012
4:07 pm
Still voting NO. I’ve had enough of politicians mis-managing my hard earned money. I’m certianly not going to voluntarily give them more to mis-manage!
You've got to be kidding!
July 19th, 2012
4:07 pm
To “Yes Vote”. You should follow your own advice and READ the law. It only covers the maintenance for the 10 years of the increase in sales tax. After that, all of these projects will need to be maintained indefinitely. Who will be paying for that?
VOTE YES!!!
July 19th, 2012
4:10 pm
@You’ve got to be kidding! – Did Obamas plan have a Citizens Review Panel that had access to whatever they wanted? I don’t think so. LT Cagle already nominated Clark Howard as one of the citizens.
Don’t be so gullible to think that everything the government touches sucks.
VOTE YES!!!
July 19th, 2012
4:14 pm
You’ve got to be kidding! – Funny, I don’t see where it says maintenance only lasts 10 years. Where is that?
ld
July 19th, 2012
4:18 pm
…and the moon’s made of cheese?
Iconoclast
July 19th, 2012
4:18 pm
Whatever happened to the days when wholesale anti-government sentiment was called anarchy and unpatriotic?
What a bunch of spoiled, self-indulgent, whiny, bed-wetting, pseudo-proselytes! You want government out of YOUR lives, but not out of your neighbors’. You want to have your cake and eat it too.
Word-up: the federal highway trust fund that built all this stuff you like to drive on is insolvent!! Congress (both parties) just raided the general fund to prop it up.
Other than bridge repairs and minimal road maintenance and safety improvements this means that after 40+ years of never caring who built it or how, the WELL IS DRY!
If you want ANYTHING else to improve your mobility. Vote yes, stay at home, or keep waiting for a messiah… dumb-masses!
david dyer
July 19th, 2012
4:24 pm
ummmmmm..lets see..new released july 19th…tsplost ballot july 31th…wonder when the State Road and Tollway Authority meets..wonder if its after july 31th..also wonder if tsplost fails will the board then not approve the removal of tolls?..then our “honest”governor deal can say he kept his word..
You've got to be kidding!
July 19th, 2012
4:27 pm
To Yes Vote:
go to the main T-Splost website (http://www.atlantaregionalroundtable.com/documents/final_report.pdf )
, this is the final project report, look at page 56 and 57 on the detailed project fact sheets for the two $600,000,000 projects for the street cars down Auburn Ave. You will see the following wording:
“The project includes the construction of a streetcar line with
stations approximately every ½ mile and 10 years of operations and maintenance funding.”
Todd
July 19th, 2012
4:33 pm
“Clearly Jim’s opinion. Keep the dang toll and vote YES to untie Atlanta. We are letting it crumble beneath us.
Rip Torn
July 19th, 2012
4:36 pm
Iconoclast,
So since the money that was allocated to pay for such things was wasted we should just shell out more, no questions asked. Now thats how you run things! I’ll vote yes If you promise that it’ll help me stop wetting the bed at night.
Cari
July 19th, 2012
4:39 pm
terrible news! So much for my easy commute from Buckhead to Sandy Springs!
kelly
July 19th, 2012
4:39 pm
My NO VOTE represents my disdain for politicians who don’t do what was promised. Try me for TSplost after the tolls are gone and I may change my mind
I'm not a fool!
July 19th, 2012
4:44 pm
The old saying comes to mind: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Don’t fall for this folks!
Iconoclast
July 19th, 2012
4:47 pm
@ Rip Torn: I’m not saying things shouldn’t be called into question, but be sure you’re willing to let the meter run for another 2-4 years while you’re in your’re wetting your bed. Eventually, you’ll find you’re getting nowhere and your bed-clothes reek.
Iconoclast
July 19th, 2012
4:50 pm
@ I’m not a fool! — If your way were the highway, there would be none to drive on in the first place. Actually, you’re not a fool; more like an idiot.
Rip Torn
July 19th, 2012
4:51 pm
Iconoclast,
I think I can hold out a little while longer without bike paths… Thanks for looking out for me though
joey
July 19th, 2012
5:00 pm
I agree, the MEEBO needs to come down way before the 400 tolls. Now please, no more MEEBO…..
cgatlanta
July 19th, 2012
5:04 pm
Iconoclast,
Do you “win” most of your discussions by name-calling?
The Truth
July 19th, 2012
5:06 pm
I was against the tax but they are going to get it one way are another so might as well be a sales tax. Please consider they are taking a lot for granted in collections and project costs. With current uncertainty in the economy do not be surprised that tax collections will be short of projections and, as with all projects, cost overruns and inflation not projected correctly. It will actually be interesting in the future to see what projects will be cut and the childish actions of government officials to try to hang on to the money. I can see this quickly going from what is best for the region to what city/county is more deserving to have a project finished.
Kris
July 19th, 2012
5:11 pm
Its nice to see some of reeds and deals cronies in the comments section…spewing lies.
I would perhaps think about the Pocket lining cronies tax,,,,,
IF DEAL resigns tomorrow.
IF REED resigns tomorrow
If they were to prevent Thrasher and Matthews for ever doing business with the state .
Arrest Sonny Purdue.
I lied…VOTE NO
I vote MEEBO go as well
TGS
July 19th, 2012
5:17 pm
Hey vote yes…….you sound as if you’re on the TSPLOST payroll as you keep regurgitating the same old song. Fact, many of these projects have little to do with Atlanta congestion. Airport improvements, sidewalks, bike paths, streetcars, etc are all very nice, but they don’t belong in the TSPLOST. Also, gov’t has proven itself untrustworthy & inept over & over. To name a few, Ga 400, Marta, Postal Service, Social Security, Obama’s stimulus plan, etc, etc, etc.
Vote no!!!!!!
Wayne A.
July 19th, 2012
5:20 pm
I have a DEAL for you, governor. You take down the 400 Booths first, then we can talk about your TSPLOST. As long as those booths are up, there’s no trust and nothing to talk about. So you come back January 14 with those booths demolished and flattened and we’ll talk. Without that precondition, nothing to talk about.
Ann
July 19th, 2012
5:32 pm
I have to agreer this is a move by Deal to try to appease all of the people he P-O’d by allowing the fee to continue following some very secret (and typical for this administration) meetings. They know the citizens should have had a vote on continuing the fee and where the money would be spent.
I did read the tsplost document and frankly I do not see where it really fixes anything, it seems to me to just move bottlenecks to other places. The only things that could possible ‘FIX’ traffic in ATL would be very comprehensive public transportation and/or double decker highways.
Robbie
July 19th, 2012
5:39 pm
My initial thought was that this is sincere and completely unexpected. I admire the attempt and it’s good that they are agreeing to make this right by canceling a toll that was unjustly extended against the will of the people. This might literally be the first time I’ve seen govt get rid of a tax and not immediately replace it by another one but…wait….they ARE. You see, they’re sacrificing a smaller tax revenue generator for a much larger one.
Why? It’s obvious they’re realizing how broken promises of the past are negatively affecting public opinion in this T-SPLOST vote and they are desperate. Just look at the comments here. Popular opinion has swayed against it primarily due to govt mistrust. Did anyone read how the Beltline officials were already caught using taxpayer money to pay for dinners and gifts that weren’t authorized. If not, read up and become informed.
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-beltlines-taxpayer-funded-1473445.html
The Ga 400 Toll is nothing compared to a 10-year sales tax increase across Metro Atlanta & Clarke County. They want us to choose the GREATER of two evils. They want us to “trust them” that this project won’t go over budget and need more money. That it won’t take longer than planned. That it will actually alleviate congestion and traffic problems in the metro area to a degree that will be noticeable. That it will create jobs and improve our standard of living. But what reason have you given us in the past to trust you?
They think we’re plain stupid. Naive? Yes, we were in the past. Let’s show them we’ve wised up.
Let’s show them we do not approve of tax increases during a recession. That we are not their piggy banks. That they have to make do just like the rest of us. And that they have a long, difficult, uphill battle to gain back our trust. The fact is that the Ga 400 toll should’ve been gone already, so they’re not being nice; they’re being manipulative.
They need a different approach. Have town halls. Show maps and mockups. Make the plan more accessible and personal for individuals. Let local communities help name the new construction. Put faces to this plan, this development project, faces that at least look trustworthy. Put them all over local news, on tv, put forth some effort. All I’ve seen so far are yard signs and billboards trying to cram this down our throats. Their approach is impersonal & insulting, and that’s why it’s a failure.
85 commuter
July 19th, 2012
5:43 pm
Think People – I guess you do not drive up and down 85 during rush hour. The HOT lanes have made traffic worse by forcing those few who did carpool before to drive in the regular lanes and by creating various points where cars are shifting lanes to get in and out of the HOT lanes. I have been driving up and down 85 for more than 22 years and traffic has never been this consistently bad.
VOTE YES: You still have not explained how improvements to McColloum Airport will improve the traffic situation around metro-Atlanta.
My 2 cents
July 19th, 2012
5:44 pm
This is manipulative, self-serving nonsense – the timing is suspect, too. Does Deal think we are so stupid we would believe him? I’ll believe this when the toll booths are dismantled and not a minute before. So, he says we will FINALLY get the burden of the toll removed right before that TSPLOST vote – and when it fails I have absolutely no doubt those toll booths will stay up another 10 or more years, long after Deal is gone.
Ann
July 19th, 2012
5:45 pm
I have to agree with Robbie the ads for tplost are so aggressive and off-putting, almost propaganda. Very disturbing in their visual appeal and quantity.
And just where did all the money for those ads come from??? There is some heavy spending being done to make us ’see their light’.
My 2 cents
July 19th, 2012
5:55 pm
@VoteYes – can I sell you a nice bridge in Brooklyn? You sure are trusting, aren’t you?
123 abc
July 19th, 2012
6:03 pm
Good Im tired of working wrecks there when people realize there in the wrong lane and back up into folks. Get rid of it.
No toll money
July 19th, 2012
6:05 pm
Anyone actually believe this? I don’t.
More Transit Projects
July 19th, 2012
6:14 pm
Being a lifelong resident of Atlanta, I have lived in Dekalb and Fulton Co. 90% of my life. Looking at the projects on the list, most are road related (with the exception Clifton Corridor and beltline). The road situation is the fault of the local governments of approving building permits to improve the tax base while at the same time not improving roads. Dekalb and Fulton Co have been paying for MARTA for decades while the voters of Cobb and Gwinett voted NO several times to MARTA. I get that MARTA has a bunch of morons running it. However, its time for the counties on the fringe of 285 step up and pay for their own mess. Get MARTA to your counties and for gods sake let the state take over MARTA. I am voting no. Good Luck.
NO TSPLOST !!!
July 19th, 2012
6:24 pm
Here we go again. Politicians being, well…politicians!! Give me a break is right – now why oh why didn’t Deal come out with this before 12 days of the T-SPLAT vote??? Big government and big business is behind this and we do not need any of that – we’ve had enough. Vote NO NO NO for T-SPLOST !!!! This funding will never ever go away….. the politicians in GEORGIA have long since proven their unfaithfulness, and for many, their untrustworthiness…….VOTE NO !!!!!!
NO TSPLOST !!!
July 19th, 2012
6:27 pm
Why does the Speaker of the House and the Lt. Gov. get to appoint Citizen Reveiw Panels for the T-SPLAT??? Why doesn’t each area get to have a special election where people get to “elect” who they wish to represent them in their area on each panel??? And, said people cannot be politicians nor ever have held office !!! With the politicians, being well, politicians – we can see where that is headed……NO FOR T-SPLAT !!!
Jeff
July 19th, 2012
6:43 pm
@Midtown Mom at 3:39 p.m…. no, the TOURISTS are not coming to Piedmont Park via Ga. 400 from the north. We have our own parks and recreation options, thank you very much. Besides, who chose to LIVE that close to Piedmont Park? You did. The so-called “tourists” you talk about coming there are actually Atlantans… the ONLY people I know who go there are people from Virginia Highlands, Decatur, Vinings and Midtown… I don’t know of anybody from the northern ‘burbs who flock to Piedmont every weekend. I’ve actually never been there myself — I don’t care for the traffic and the cluster. I have a couple of friends who might go once a year, but only for a special festival or something. So let’s not start an OTP vs. ITP war… your statement seemed quite judgemental, intolerant and stereotypical… I thought ITP people were supposed to be all open-minded?
If you live close to Piedmont Park, don’t bi-yatch and moan when people come visit — that is why you moved there, remember, to be close to everybody and everything? Tourists that come to Atlanta stay ITP — that is where the bulk of the hotel rooms are in the area (the VAST majority of them). Most of the typical tourist attractions are ITP — Turner Field, Coca-Cola, Six Flags, museums, the Varsity, Underground, Piedmont Park, the Ga. Aquarium, etc. etc. etc. Not many people stay in Buford or Cumming or Alpharetta and trek down 400 to go visit all the “Atlanta stuff”.
The issue is still that it is absurd for one group of people to ask any other group of people to pitch in more because they are not “doing their fair share.” The best way to solve that is move to a fair tax system, raise sales taxes a bit, and spread the burden more equally on EVERYONE, citizens and visitors alike. To suggest otherwise is to incite class envy, class warfare, and more selfish people digging in their respective positions, and nothing gets resolved.
Fact — the Ga. 400 toll SHOULD have been stopped long before this. Any move to eliminate it is a good thing. And passing the T-SPLOST is not the perfect solution to Atlanta’s traffic problems, but it’s a start, and to vote no is to just settle in to another decade of worsening traffic and gridlock and wait for something to magically get done.
Robert Jarrell
July 19th, 2012
6:52 pm
This is not EARLIER than Originally Planned! It may be earlier than the EXTENDED Planned date. And … Yea … Right. I’ll believe it when I see it.
And, with that last minute move, extending it, there is NO WAY I will EVER support the new T-SPLOST Measure. I just cannot trust that it will be used as promised … nor … end as promised.
Wondering
July 19th, 2012
7:06 pm
It would be interesting to see the savings to the state by ending the HOT lane, GA 400 tolls and eliminating all of the SRTA. SRTA itself has to cost money to operate, and its only reasons to exist are the HOT lane and GA 400 toll collections and oversight.
In 2011 (the last year reported on Open.Georgia.gov), over 25% of SRTA employees made over 100,000 during that fiscal year, including one with the title ‘Former Employee’. When examining the job titles, none appear to operate the computers that process the tolls and collect the fees. This makes me also wonder how many contractors they use to run their computers?
PMom_GA
July 19th, 2012
7:25 pm
Here’s the “Deal deal”:
Deal: GA400 tolls stopped in 2013
Sheeples: Yeah! Okay – I’ll go for TSPLOST since I get my toll money back.
August 1, 2012: TSPLOST does not pass:
Deal: Well, sorry folks, looks like the GA400 tolls will have to stay. We can’t keep up the roll with out the tolls.
Sheeples: Duped again.
***
Already voted a hearty NO to TSPLOST.