Let’s get this straight. If you are deeply, deeply concerned about Charlotte property taxpayers paying for CATS’ $9 billion transit plan — and Pat Mumford says that is why we must keep the half-cent for transit — then you better also speak up about CATS spending $76 million in local property tax-backed dollars on the $470 million North commuter line.

Why is it OK to spend property taxes on CATS with the half-cent in place, but horribly, terribly wrong to spend property taxes on CATS with the half-cent gone?

I’ll tell you why, because if you repeal the half-cent, the future trains go away. And Mumford and the pro-tax side cannot abide by that.

As such, all the talk about Charlotte’s bus system is a complete and utter smokescreen in order to save the trains. We could run a bus system without the half-cent. We could run the bus system funded by the new quarter-cent option the state gave counties. We could put the half-cent back on after we adopt a new transit plan that doesn’t immediately build another $1 billion worth of trains.

We have options. The pro-tax side does not want anyone to know that.

Keep Mecklenburg Moving?

Try Keep Misleading Mecklenburg.