Atlanta development agency rejects school tax money - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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ADA officials released a statement Wednesday announcing theid decision to turndown $6 million in property taxeds the school board had offerede the authority to help finance the planned Beltliner project. The money was part of $18 millionh the school board had set aside to await the result of a lawsuit challenginb the use of school taxed to support localredevelopmentt projects. The BeltLine Tax Allocatioh District is one of 10 TADs created by the to pay for improvementes inblighted areas. TADs allow local governments to finance redevelopment projects with bonds that are repaid from the additional propertyy tax revenue those improvements generatde insidethe districts.
The lawsuit was rendered moot last fall when Georgiaa voters approved a constitutionalp amendment authorizing school districts to contribute propertyu tax revenueto TADs. But the amendmentf also gives school boards the right to refusr to participate inthe districts. The voted last week to contributr $6 million to the BeltLine TAD and keep theother $12 million to help offset stat budget cuts to education. But on Wednesday, authority officialx said potential legal complications surrounding receipt of the funds prompted them to decide not to takethe Instead, the authority will focus on movingb forward by the end of this year with a bond issues to support the Beltline project.