For TSPLOST vote, a ‘movement’ called ‘Unlock ATL’ mounts

Maybe you’ve seen the staked signs at interstate off-ramps and in front yards. Vote yes to TSPLOST, they urge.

It’s not leftover detritus from the disastrous “Untie Atlanta” campaign of four years ago, that regional TSPLOST debacle. The signs are meant to sway a more focused demographic: Atlantans and their ilk in Fulton County.

And now the pro-TSPLOST campaign has powerful backing.

On Thursday, Atlanta’s most influential real estate and development associations (per them) launched a campaign called “Unlock ATL.” The effort, which leaders are calling unprecedented, is mean to boost support for transportation referenda on the Nov. 8 ballot, which these leaders of the city’s real estate scene unsurprisingly deem critical.

They’re targeting all of Fulton County. They want everyone to vote “YES” for the five-year transportation TSPLOST, and they think supporting the MARTA sales tax would be kind of great, too. And they’re calling this a “movement.”

“Metro Atlanta is in the middle of an economic development win streak that is creating tens of thousands of new jobs and providing new opportunities for residents across the region,” Steve Dils, a Sandy Springs resident and Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors president, said in a release. “We want to maintain this momentum, so it’s critical that residents vote for the T-SPLOST referendum.”

Who’s involved in this historic coalescence? Only the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, Atlanta Realtors Association, The Council for Quality Growth, Society of Industrial Realtors, and others.

In striving to differentiate the upcoming referenda from the clunker of 2012, the group writes:

“Unlike the previous TSPLOST referendum, proceeds raised in any given area will go directly to benefit that area's projects. That means money raised in Sandy Springs will benefit Sandy Springs, money raised in Union City will be dedicated for use in Union City, and the same will occur throughout the various cities in Fulton County.”

Atlanta Regional Commission

So what exactly will Atlanta voters see on ballots in a couple of weeks?

This:

1. Shall an additional 0.4% in sales tax be collected for infrastructure and road improvements?

2. Shall an additional 0.5% in sales tax be collected for the purpose of significantly expanding and enhancing MARTA transit service in the City of Atlanta?

In the remaining parts of Fulton County, the language will be:

• Shall an additional 0.75% sales tax be collected in part of Fulton County outside of the City of Atlanta for five years for the purpose of transportation improvements and congestion reduction?

Sounds pretty straightforward.

• Everything voters need to know about November's TSPLOST and MARTA Sales Tax in one place [Council for Quality Growth]