Mayor Kasim Reed presented the nearly $7 billion wish list of projects to the council on Monday, which includes upgrades and expansion of MARTA as well as funding for roads and bridges.
Regions and major cities around the state have been asked to submit their wish list of projects that would be funded by a 1 cent transportation sales tax.
Voters will decide on the state referendum in 2012, and approval would then allow voters in each region to decide if they want to implement the tax to benefit their community.
Council members criticized the mayors proposals saying the list does not do enough to improve the city.
“The council has its opinion, and I have mine. I believe in regionalism, and Im going to continue to move in that direction,” Reed told Channel 2s Amy Napier Viteri.
“I think a significant investment in the MARTA system means a great deal to me. I want to move the Atlanta BeltLine forward, faster,” Reed said.
Council members also complained because they were not consulted by the mayor before the list of projects was formed. Reed told Napier Viteri he had a very short time frame.
“We had a very tight deadline. Its March 31. The round table only recently came together, and we were putting together projects that were very complex,” Reed said.
Reed planned to trim the list down in the next 24 hours before submitting it to state transportation officials and then turn his attention to the councils concerns about the final proposal.
