Fulton County’s Nov. 3 ballot carries four questions: a transportation sales tax outside Atlanta, a school sales tax countywide, a redevelopment question in Sandy Springs and a property tax exemption in Palmetto. Which ones a voter sees depends on where they live. All four appear on the county’s consolidated sample ballot. Early voting runs through Oct. 30, and voters can see their own ballot on the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page [1].
Transportation sales tax. Voters outside the City of Atlanta will see this question: “Shall an additional 0.75 percent sales and use tax be imposed in that part of Fulton County, Georgia, outside of the City of Atlanta, for a period not to exceed five years for the purpose of transportation improvements and congestion reduction.” The county’s notice of the election says the tax would take effect April 1, 2027, and conclude March 31, 2032 [2].
The county calls the vote a renewal. The county’s TSPLOST page says voters first approved the tax in November 2016 and renewed it in 2021, and the county says a yes vote would keep the current rate. The county projects about $650 million from 2027 to 2032 [3]. Each of 14 cities would receive a share, led by South Fulton at $119,259,834, Sandy Springs at $112,340,820 and Roswell at $98,202,519. The largest project category is $227,203,245 for pedestrian, bicycle, streetscape and landscape work, followed by $182,868,854 for maintenance and safety improvements. On Aug. 3 the county commission approved the intergovernmental agreement and a resolution requesting the election, with four commissioners voting yes and two absent. The county’s announcement quotes Chairman Robb Pitts (D): “Transportation remains one of the top concerns identified by Fulton County residents.”
School sales tax. Every Fulton County voter will see this question: “Shall the special one percent sales and use tax for educational purposes currently imposed in Fulton County be reimposed on July 1 2027 upon the expiration of the currently imposed tax, for not longer than 20 consecutive calendar quarters, to raise not more than $2,095,680,577.00” for the purposes the ballot lists. The ballot caps the Fulton County School District’s share at $1,306,195,350 and the Atlanta Independent School System’s share at $789,485,227. It adds that a yes vote would also approve general obligation debt of up to $350,000,000 for the Atlanta system, payable from its portion of the tax. The ballot says the projects are “more fully described in the Notice of Election.”
In a bulletin dated June 22, Fulton County Schools said its board approved a resolution calling the referendum to reauthorize the existing 1% tax for its Capital Plan 2032, and that the current tax is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2027.
Sandy Springs. City voters will see: “Shall the Act be approved which authorizes the City of Sandy Springs, Georgia, to exercise all redevelopment powers allowed under the ‘Redevelopment Powers Law,’ as it may be amended from time to time.” The act is House Bill 1535 [4]. Rough Draft Atlanta reported that the City Council passed a resolution backing the referendum on March 17 and that, according to a city memo, a yes vote would let the council designate redevelopment areas, establish tax allocation districts and issue tax allocation bonds. City Attorney Dan Lee told the council that such districts set aside tax growth in certain areas for infrastructure, the outlet reported.
Palmetto. City voters will see: “Shall persons who are 65 years of age or older by January 1, 2026 and are a resident of Palmetto, Georgia who own and occupy as a primary residence a home situated in the City of Palmetto qualify for 100% of city ad valorem tax exemption in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 48-5-48.3?” The question comes from House Bill 1558 [4]. The act prescribes different ballot wording from the question printed on Fulton’s sample ballot: “Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from City of Palmetto ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes in the amount of the full assessed value of the homestead for residents of that city who are 65 years of age or older?” Under the act, the exemption covers city taxes for municipal purposes, not state, county or school taxes. It applies to tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2027, and a resident must apply to the city to receive it [5].
What groups have said. The county and the school board have described their measures, as above, and neither asks voters to vote either way in the pages cited here. The Sandy Springs council backed its own question with a resolution. GApolitics searched on Oct. 15 and found no published position on any of the four questions from an outside group. These were the places checked. For the transportation tax: the Fulton County Democratic and Republican parties, the Greater North Fulton, South Fulton and Metro Atlanta chambers, the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, the Georgia Farm Bureau and taxpayer and transit groups. For the school tax: both parties, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the labor council, a Georgia Association of Educators local, an AFT local, the Farm Bureau and parent-teacher and school foundation groups. For Sandy Springs: both parties, the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber, taxpayer groups, labor and the Farm Bureau. For Palmetto: the City Council, both parties, the South Fulton Chamber, taxpayer or senior groups, labor and the Farm Bureau. The searches also looked for a campaign committee on each question and found none. GApolitics also did not find the Atlanta school board’s own resolution calling its share of the school tax vote.