Get Informed: TSPLOST Forums Help Voters Decide

There are only 49 days till the July 31 Regional Transportation Referendum when voters will decide whether to levy a one-percent special-purpose local-option sales tax to fund regional transportation improvements. For voters who are still on the fence about the issue, there are several opportunities to get informed.

On Tuesday, July 12 the Civic League for Regional Atlanta will host a forum called “Making Sense of the 1 Cent.” This forum will focus on the economic impact of the TSPLOST.

The forum’s panelists include Leonardo McClarty, president of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce; Julianne Thompson, co-founder of Georgia Tea Party Patriots; Mike Alexander, Atlanta Regional Commission research division chief; John Keys, consultant for Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities; and Colleen Kiernan, executive director of the Sierra Club. John Robert Smith, president of Reconnecting America will moderate the forum.

The forum begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza-Atlanta Perimeter Galleria in Sandy Springs. Registration includes continental breakfast and is $20 for members of the Civic League for Regional Atlanta and $30 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased online. 

There’s another chance to learn about the Regional Transportation Referendum the following week on June 19. Smyrna will host a countywide forum with moderated presentations from spokespersons with varying positions on the referendum.

The presentation begins at 7 p.m. at Smyrna City Hall or watch it from home on Charter Communications Channel 19.

The Atlanta Regional Commission has four more Wireside Chats scheduled for June 13 and 14. Cobb County’s Wireside chat was last week, but those interested in hearing about the referendum from a different community’s perspective can register for the Cherokee, DeKalb, South Fulton or Clayton county chats. Or listen to a recording of the Cobb County Wireside Chat.

The will host a TSPLOST forum at its First Monday Breakfast on July 9 at 7:30 a.m. the Cobb Galleria Centre. Ed Baker, publisher of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and Paul Bennecke, founder of Red Clay Strategies, will discuss the economic implications of the referendum.

Registration for members is $25 online and $40 at the door. Non-members pay $60 at the door. 

What questions do you have about the TSPLOST? Tell us in the comments.