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Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) board members and senior staffers will be available to the public later today to answer questions about what’s next for MARTA’s future in light of a failed ballot measure. The measure, which voters rejected on July 31, would have created a 1 percent sales tax for transportation projects.

The public is invited to attend MARTA’s regularly scheduled board meeting today, after which board and staff members will answer questions about how the referendum’s outcome will impact the Interstate-20 East and Clifton Corridor light-rail projects; the implementation of MARTA’s state-of-good repair projects; and ongoing actions to identify new growth opportunities and revenue sources to help position the authority for financial stability.

“We understand that the recent election has raised legitimate concerns about the future of MARTA,” said Chairman Frederick Daniels Jr. in a prepared statement. “That’s why we’re looking forward to talking about the plans we’re already working on to increase MARTA’s value to our customers, the state and regional economy and to the general public.”

The board also invited all “elected officials, community groups and other interested parties to learn firsthand about the $6.4 billion public asset MARTA represents,” authority officials said.

After the referendum failed last week, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued a statement indicating the vote’s result “slams the door on further expansion of our rail network any time soon.”

“Neither I, nor the Legislature has much of an appetite for new investments until there are significant reforms in how MARTA operates,” Deal stated.