What can I say, PART keeps making news.
Davidson County commissioners sign off on the 5 percent tax on car rentals, knowing full well that PART “will eventually have to come back to the county seeking another revenue stream after it has depleted the reserve funds it will use to make up the difference in operational costs.”
Expect that to happen, because PART eventually will spend more money than it has coming in. You’ve got to wonder about the figures surrounding its capital plan, which includes spending $22 million on a new bus and commuter train terminal near Piedmont Triad International Airport. The capital plan will be paid for with $38 million in future grants, with only $6 million in hand now. Director Brent McKinney is confident the money will come through, but the feds have pulled the plug on mass transit projects elsewhere.
Over-promise, over-spend, under-deliver, then go back to local governments for more. PART’S going to keep making news, alright.