VHCA Encourages Support for Tuesday Bond Referendum

Fire Station 19 repair funds confirmed on list

Anticipated light voter turnout means your vote matters more than ever

Atlanta City District 6 Councilmember Alex Wan confirmed this week that repair funds for Fire Station 19 are included in the infrastructure bond coming up for a vote this coming week. In a meeting with Wan at the station, Atlanta Fire Department Interim Chief Joel Baker assured community members that the station would remain a fixture in the neighborhood for another generation. Noting that the area’s increased growth means additional fire and rescue capacity might be necessary, Baker reported that the department would address those needs through additional facilities, not replacement of FS19.

The infrastructure vote has flown along relatively under the radar, gathering attention only in the last two weeks. Councilmember Wan, chair of the Council’s Finance/Executive Committee, is a strong supporter, as is the VHCA Board, which voted unanimously in favor of it last week. Creative Loafing’s Thomas Wheatley says the city’s aging and crumbling infrastructure leads him to support the vote, notwithstanding the fact that the project list may be adjusted to some degree. Max Blau finds that last point all too characteristic of this administration and wants to send the Mayor a message about more transparency. Neither of them – no one, to our knowledge – has contested the need for the repair work. You can read both their opinions here: http://clatl.com/atlanta/how-were-voting-on-the-infrastructure-bond-vote/Content?oid=13727618.

Greater transparency is a goal we can all endorse, but not fixing broken roads and aging bridges is a costly way to make the point. Our ‘strong mayor’ form of government gives that individual’s personality and style outsized importance – something well worth remembering when we next go to the polls to vote for that office in 2018 – but a ‘no’ vote on infrastructure improvements doesn’t change city government in the least. It just means we will lose at least half a decade in addressing these problems.

Meanwhile, David Pendered notes in the Saporta Report that the city’s improved credit rating enabled the municipality to refinance some of its outstanding water bond debt at a lower rate last month, saving – he suggests – about 10% on the refi amount. You can read his article here: http://saportareport.com/good-news-on-atlantas-water-debt-may-raise-support-for-bond-referendum/.

Taxpayers pay for all public work one way or another, and there can be no absolute guarantee that a tax increase related to these bonds will never be needed. But Reed is opposed to it publicly, and even his harshest critics acknowledge that he has greatly strengthened the city’s financial position. If there is one area in which his credibility is strong, this is it.

Lastly, local impacts. We appreciate the role of Fire Station 19 in this community’s life and are glad its preservation will be ensured by the passage of this vote. But even if it were not on the list, the other repairs and improvements this bond will deliver need to be started now. It is inevitable and appropriate in our representative system that special efforts will be made to ensure that all communities are benefitted in some way, but the needs of this city are so vast that it wasn’t very hard to make sure that occurred. In our neighborhood this includes a host of traffic improvements, including many along Monroe Drive and Boulevard that are supported by communities along the length of those roads.

We urge you to take the time to study these issues and vote on Tuesday, and we hope you will support this referendum.

~ The VHCA Board of Directors