An estimated 265,800 residents in Georgia’s Clayton County could regain full public bus service in the next two years should voters approve a referendum that narrowly succeeded in making its way to the Nov. 4 ballot, according to a community group and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 
County commissioners voted Saturday to approve the measure, which would include a 1-cent sales tax and permit the area to join the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The approved language, the media organization added, does not include a rail service deadline.
Days earlier, on July 1, county commissioners had given the nod to a half penny tax sales tax increase for the MARTA services. The MARTA board rejected that amount the following day, saying it was unfair to other counties that have been paying a full penny amount for years, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In 2010, the county – which sits south of Atlanta – ended its own public bus service known as C-Tran, according to Georgia STAND-UP, a regional group that works on community, social justice and economic development issues.
“Thousands of Clayton residents lost their independence in 2010,” Georgia STAND-UP said in a statement. “From an economic standpoint, businesses were forced to close or simply leave the county after C-Tran ended.”
The county, which has a poverty rate of 21.5 percent, has lost jobs, according to the group. In addition, empty shopping plazas are common, homes have fallen into foreclosure and property values have dropped.
“All of this hardship is in direct correlation to a lack of public transportation,” the organization added.
At one meeting in July, some Clayton commissioners expressed reservations at the 1-cent sales tax idea because they felt it would hurt businesses, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Georgia STAND-UP said that if public transportation fails to return, Clayton County’s economy will continue to decline.
Clayton County has a median income of $42,569, according to the Census Bureau. The state has a median income of $49,604.
In 2012, 67 percent of county residents were African Americans. Whites – not counting Hispanics or Latinos – made up 14.7 percent of county residents. Hispanics were 13.4 percent of the county population. Residents of Asian descent were 5 percent of the population.
Atlanta-based Georgia STAND-UP is a community “think” and “act” tank, especially for working families. The organization works to ensure that people can participate in shaping policy that affects them.