Austerity Age Fades as Road Work Pushes Atlanta to Borrow
By Margaret Newkirk Jan 22, 2015 8:00 PM ET
For the first time since 2001, Atlanta is seeking voter approval to sell bonds for infrastructure.
For years, black nets underneath downtown Atlanta’s 106-year-old Courtland Street bridge kept broken concrete from hitting cars and pedestrians below -- and regularly snagged on the roofs of trucks.
Now, for the first time since 2001, Atlanta is seeking voter approval to sell bonds for infrastructure, including a replacement for the derelict span. If approved on March 17, officials say the $250 million would begin addressing $1 billion of needed improvements to roads, traffic signals and other public works.
“We have maintenance that’s been put off for years and years and years,” said Richard Mendoza, commissioner of the Public Works Department. “The $250 million is what we are able to afford without raising property taxes.”
Atlanta’s decision is part of a shift for American states and cities as the economy expands at the fastest pace in over a decade: They’re using the taxpayer credit card again. After a budget-cutting push led governments to pay off debt by the most on record, the $3.6 trillion municipal-bond market may grow this year for the first time since 2010 because of borrowing for construction projects.
Critical Stage
State and local governments are expected to sell $357.5 billion in debt this year, an increase of $9.4 billion from 2014, according to a survey of 14 investment banks released last month by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a New York-based group that represents Wall Street.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-23/austerity-age-fades-as-road-work-pushes-atlanta-to-borrow.html
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