Mayor says Atlanta is prospering despite pandemic

With an increase in school enrollment, eight years without a rate hike to property tax, a continuing upward trend for sales tax revenue and new residential construction underway within the city’s limits, Atlanta, according to Mayor Travis Ransom, has been insulated from the effects of COVID-19 from an economic standpoint— something few cities have enjoyed across the state.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported last Thursday that the economy shrank at a rate of 32.9 percent annually in the second quarter of 2020--underscoring the impact of the pandemic. Despite this, Atlanta’s economy, according to Ransom, is in good health.

“We’ve seen this before”, Ransom said.

“The markets rise and fall but Atlanta is just steady. There’s no doubt there have been difficulties for many folks out of work but many of our largest retailers were essential businesses and have done very well - grocery stores, hardware stores and other essential businesses. Restaurants for the most part were able to quickly adapt to take-out and our community rallied around local businesses to support them during this difficult time”, Ransom said.

Indicators of positive economic sustainment and growth can be attributed to school enrollment, sales tax revenue and new construction.

“Pre COVID, Atlanta had enjoyed enrollment in our school district. We had seen a significant increase in sales tax revenue, meaning that the economy was really going well. Post-COVID--seven months into this calendar year, in spite of COVID, our sales tax has continued to trend up. We’re now at an average of 3% year over year, increase in sales tax.”

Ransom said where other cities will be forced to raise property tax rates to make up for the shortfall in sales tax revenue, the city of Atlanta will not.

“We have had a very conservative budget and because of our improvements in sales tax, we will be able to keep pace without the shortfalls other cities are going to be facing in the State of Texas.”

Demand for new housing, Ransom said, is another indicator of positive economic growth and describes the 10 new residential construction projects within the city limits a “housing boom” which he says, “For a city of our size, is kind of a big deal.”

Three new constructions are part of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) HOME Program project.

“We try to do three to five of those projects, annually. Two are multi-family duplexes and the others are private new construction single-family homes.”

When asked about the availability and demand for new housing and if plans are underway to bring new neighborhoods to Atlanta, he explained that the infrastructure currently in place can accommodate new residential properties.

“Our waste-water treatment plant is not at capacity—it can handle almost twice the amount of volume without any real significant increases in cost. So, our waste-water treatment plant was almost over-built. It’s very flexible as far as its ability. It was nice that they built it such that it was able to handle more volume than it needs than the population requires.”

Ransom said the city is actively looking for developers to meet housing demands.