As last night’s absurd performance made clear, CATS will never stop building trains and the city council refuses to hold CATS responsible for how it builds trains.
So let’s cut to the chase: Repeal the half-cent transit tax which funds CATS to the tune of $50 million a year.
County Attorney Marvin Bethune, in a memo to County Commissioner Bill James, explains the county can repeal the tax. Moreover, one way to do that is by petition — around 50,000 signatures should be able to put a repeal vote on the November 2007 ballot.
Interesting, no?
Update: It occurs to me that the Uptown crowd may have out-smarted itself if repeal of the half-cent option grows some legs. Recall the the hike in the car rental tax for CATS, done with cover-story of the Uptown art package, is supposed to help CATS build future choo-choo trains. As a dedicated revenue source, CATS can float bonds secured by that money. But it cuts both ways.
That money would also be around if and when the half-cent tax is repealed — I think. If so, this means that horror stories about CATS shutting down bus service or going bankrupt if the half-cent goes away are more far-fetched. CATS would still have the car rental tax money to run buses.
However, I’ll have to study the way the General Assembly wrote up the car rental tax language to know exactly how the two are related.
