Who does CATS chief Keith Parker think he is kidding? There is exactly one place he can go to get money for CATS’ train-building plans — taxpayers’ pockets.
On Sunday Steve Harrison tip-toed into telling readers of the Uptown paper of record they were lied to by CATS, the city of Charlotte, the Chamber — basically everyone who said in 2007 that of course the half-cent transit tax could pay for a $9.5b. transit plan. The nut of it all:
During last year’s debate over whether to keep or repeal the half-cent sales tax for mass transit, critics questioned whether the tax could pay for the ambitious transit plan. Mayor Pat McCrory, who is running for governor, said the city wouldn’t “go outside” the tax to pay for transit.
McCrory said this week he doesn’t want to consider a new tax or bond to build the transit system sooner. CATS already wants to use some property taxes to build the commuter rail line, and the city of Charlotte is considering the same for the streetcar.
“We’ll have to live within the confines of the half-cent sales tax,” McCrory said. “During these economic times we’ll have to be both economically and politically pragmatic. And at times, patient.”
Notice that Pat is trying to have it both ways. Using future property tax revenues to pay for construction debt — $70m. for the North line and at least $400m. for streetcars — is using a new tax to build rail lines, namely the property tax. And it is the property tax that McCrory and others repeatedly said would have to be increased were the half-cent transit tax repealed.
Looks like we are perfectly willing to use scarce property tax revenue now. What changed? Oh yeah, voters do not have a say in the matter now.
Bonus Observation: This is how insipid this discussion has become: There is no way on Earth, given the realities in the credit and real estate markets, that the city of Charlotte or CATS or any combination thereof could responsibly tax increment finance $1.5 billion worth of trains in the near future. Yet that is what we are talking about rather than admit we need a new transit plan.