That was weak. Even for city government and CATS.

The official response to the concept of a half-cent transit tax repeal conclusively proved why the repeal is needed. Ron Tober and Pam Syfert provided no serious alternatives to using $45 million out of $70 million in transit tax revenue to run a gold-plated bus system.

All of Syfert’s suggestions were on the revenue side, nothing on the spending side. Yet we know that were CATS to bring its operating costs in line with bus systems in the rest of North Carolina it could shave about $20 million off the cost of running the current bus system. You could find another $10 million at least in getting local government out of the economic develop biz. Let’s see $5 million for the Scaleybark transit station, $1.1 million to buy grocery stores in Belmont to help make way for the Northeast rail line to UNCC, $2 million from the city for the Baxter Street bridge/greenway, $2 million from the county for that project — looks like that’s real money for one of Charlotte’s supposed top three priorities — transportation and transit.

But all CATS wants to talk about is hiking property taxes — or absurdly — selling off part of the South Blvd. rail line, an option no supporter of the tax repeal has ever advocated.

Syfert’s started off the night with dubious spin. She said that she used property tax revenue because that is the only revenue source the city directly controls. This overlooks the fact that the city hiked the business privilege license levy a couple years ago and could do so again. Not that it should, but that is another option.

Syfert also made it seem like it was impossible to get the state delegation moving and the General Assembly in gear to support some other levy. Funny, that do not prove to be much of a hurdle when the General Assembly needed to approve things the Uptown crowd wanted to do. But again, that is just the revenue side.

CATS out-of-control spending — operating costs up 234 percent since 1998 as ridership went up 52 percent — simply is not on the table as an item for reform. Therefore, the only rational thing to do is cut off CATS’ supply of money.

Intentionally or not, Syfert and Tober tonite provided the best argument yet for repeal of the transit tax. These two key city officials are institutionally, culturally, and perhaps genetically unable to behave in a fiscally responsible manner.