"Georgia city explores Hartsfield sales tax"

Monday, March 12, 2007

Clayton explores airport sales tax
Increased funds, MARTA deal linked
By Eric Stirgus
The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution

 
A magazine, a pack of chewing gum or a souvenir soon could cost a little
more at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport if the Clayton County
Commission makes a deal with MARTA.

Clayton officials quietly are discussing a penny-per-dollar sales tax on
retail items sold inside the parts of the airport located in Clayton County.

Clayton, which is seeking revenue, could end up collecting about $2 million
a year, said Clayton Commissioner Wole Ralph, who has been involved in some
discussions about the tax.

The airport sales tax would not require voter approval. If the Clayton
County Commission approves it, the sales tax would rise to 8 percent on
items sold in the Clayton sections of the airport.

But before the tax can become a reality, the Clayton commissioners need to
cozy up to MARTA, the transit system that operates buses and transit rail
throughout much of the Atlanta area.

Under the legislation that set up MARTA, Clayton can impose the airport
sales tax if Clayton enters into a contract with MARTA to operate C-Tran,
the Clayton public bus system.

Last month, Clayton transportation and development officials recommended
that to commissioners. The commission must decide what to do by April 1, the
deadline for Clayton to announce its plans to the current operating company.
So far, MARTA has not provided a cost analysis to run C-Tran.

Ralph supports the tax, saying it could ease the financial strain the county
government faces because of problems at Delta Air Lines and the future
closing of Fort Gillem.

"It would make a world of difference," Ralph said.

Clayton currently pays $4 million a year to Cincinnati-based First Transit
to run the service. County transportation officials, in a recent memo to
Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell, complained that First Transit's service is
"marginal." The officials said nearly 30 percent of C-Tran buses were late
during the first week in February.

First Transit disagrees, saying on-time service is nearly 95 percent.
Company leaders say the volume of complaints is low and that they've stored
more parts to make quicker repairs.

"We were a little surprised to hear about the discussions [about ending the
contract]," said company regional vice president David Hines. "We think
we've done a good job."

Forest Park resident Lee Anderson doesn't think so. She said she stopped
regularly riding C-Tran because of slow service.

Case in point, she says, was Dec. 22. Anderson took MARTA from her job in
Buckhead to the airport and said she waited two hours for a C-Tran bus to
drive her home.

"I could have flown to New York [in that time]," said the 49-year-old
Brooklyn, N.Y, transplant. "That was really, really brutal."

Bus officials investigated the complaint and said service was slow that day
because of Christmas holiday traffic.

C-Tran has become vital to Clayton residents. First Transit says ridership
has risen 38 percent since 2004. Clayton has the lowest median household
income ($39,492) of any county in the Atlanta region.

MARTA originally operated C-Tran, which started in October 2001. Clayton
County did not apply a sales tax at the airport at that time. The county
government switched in 2004 to First Transit, which made a bid to run the
system for $3.2 million less than MARTA.

MARTA officials and Bell did not return telephone calls seeking comment on
the airport sales tax. Airport officials said they were unaware of the
discussions and didn't want to comment until talking with their legal staff.

The airport sits on the Clayton-Fulton county line. The tax wouldn't
increase on items sold at the airport's main terminal and concourses A, T
and part of concourse B because they are inside the College Park city
limits.

BY THE NUMBERS 

$1.50: Cost of one-way fare for most C-TRAN passengers

1,717,101: Number of C-TRAN passengers in 2006

$206 million: Total sales in 2006 in the Clayton County areas of airport

4: Number of C-TRAN routes

$4 million: C-TRAN's annual operating cost

Sources: Clayton County Government, First Transit, Hartsfield-Jackson
International Airport

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