Fulton County transportation tax collections are lower than expected

Old Alabama Road in Johns Creek. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM AJC FILE PHOTO

Old Alabama Road in Johns Creek. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM AJC FILE PHOTO

A year into Fulton County's collection of a sales tax to pay for road, bridge and sidewalk improvements, less money is coming in than was projected.

That shortfall could mean some of the lower-priority projects that residents voted on will not be completed unless collections improve.

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The county expected to bring in $109.3 million for transportation improvements in 2017. Instead, it has collected $94.3 million between April 2017 and the end of March.

Estimates said the tax could raise as much as $655 million over five years.

Todd Long, Fulton County’s chief operating officer, said cities that were paying for transportation improvements with the funds had ranked their projects, and all the highest priority ones could likely still be completed as planned.

In Fulton County outside of Atlanta, residents are paying three-quarters of a penny sales tax for transportation improvements. They approved the five-year measure in 2016 and started collecting taxes last year.