If you wade through all 29-pages of spin and hype the city of Charlotte submitted to the federal government in hopes of winning a $25m. streetcar jackpot one thing you won’t find is a clear statement on who will pick up the $1.5m. in annual operating costs for any such $37m. streetcar line.
In fact, given that many of the supporting documents referenced in the application pre-date the 2008 decision by the city to take over the entire 10-mile $500m. streetcar project from CATS, any casual reader would assume that CATS is going to fund operating costs out of the transit half-cent. But we know that is not true.
Recall what CATS chief Carolyn Flowers said just last month about streetcar operating costs: “Clearly it won’t be CATS. We aren’t budgeting it and we aren’t planning to budget it.”
That leaves the city then, but the city is not telling the feds that. Maybe that is because the city is already having to scrape together one-time “property tax, sales tax, and auto tax revenues” in order to come up with $12m. in matching funds the 1.5 mile starter project requires. An ongoing commitment of those General Fund revenues for streetcar operation would be a permanent drain on city finances.
This little operating cost dodge also explains why Carroll Gray and crew up North are worried that city’s streetcar will claim half-cent revenue somehow if another financing mechanism is not clearly spelled out.
The city is also playing fast and loose with South line ridership numbers, still claiming the old 16,000 trips per day number from 2008. In reality, ridership is off about 15 percent, down to a 13,741 average for December.
But, hey, why should facts matter when we are talking free money from Uncle Sucker?
Bonus Observation: Vehicle fee hike or parking surcharge to help pay those operating costs, anyone?
