Sandy Springs' representative on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners is locked in a public fight with Atlanta's mayor over who controls roughly $1 billion in property tax revenue that could fund county services or Atlanta redevelopment projects.
Commissioner Bob Ellis, who has represented District 2 since 2015, fired back Friday, July 31, after Mayor Andre Dickens sent a four-page letter on Thursday, July 30, criticizing the commission's July 15 vote to reject 30-year extensions of six tax allocation districts. The dispute has direct implications for Sandy Springs property taxpayers already on the hook for bond interest on the county's $1.36 billion jail overhaul.
Ellis argued the extensions violate state law, citing a Georgia Office of Legislative Counsel opinion that treating a TAD extension as a new TAD requires a redevelopment plan the city hasn't written.
"What the city did is they voted to lock in a 30-year, up to $7 billion commitment and then promised to write the plans that state law requires as a precondition," Ellis told WABE. "And now we would be being asked to consent to that same inversion, surrendering up to $85 million a year without any binding, enforceable project commitments."
What's at stake for Sandy Springs
In a TAD, growth in property tax revenue is diverted away from Fulton County into a separate fund used for redevelopment within the district. If the six TADs expire as scheduled starting around 2031, that money flows back to the county. Ellis said the commission plans to use those returning dollars to pay for the jail overhaul, a new Grady Health hospital in South Fulton, and health and human services facilities.
Extending the TADs for 30 more years would keep up to $85 million annually out of county coffers, according to Ellis.
That matters locally because the county has no other identified revenue to fully cover the jail project. As we reported July 21, Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts confirmed after the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail Authority's 3-2 financing vote on July 20 that "interest on the bonds will be paid by taxpayers." No per-household cost estimate has been released.
Fulton County CFO Sharon Whitmore has identified two revenue streams for the jail: TAD dollars returning after expiration and savings from the county's pension obligation eventually dropping off. Neither source is available yet.
Dickens's counter
In his July 30 letter, Dickens framed the dispute as a choice between punishment and prevention, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. He called the $1.3 billion jail "the wrong answer" and an "unnecessarily heavy drain on taxpayer dollars." Dickens also withdrew a previous offer to sell the Atlanta City Detention Center to the county for $80 million.
Ellis disputed the sale's terms. He said the county appraised the detention center at about $65 million and estimated renovations at $100 million, far above the $40 million Dickens cited.
Commissioner Dana Barrett added that the two governments never negotiated a structure that could have served both sides.
"That level of negotiation never happened," Barrett told WABE.
What comes next
The commission's July 15 vote was 4-1 against the TAD extensions, but Atlanta still has a path forward. For the extensions to proceed, either Fulton County or Atlanta Public Schools must opt in. APS's TAD Investment Review Committee is expected to make a recommendation by December.
