The Charlotte Capitalist notes that Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Puckett is asking County Manager Harry Jones just what would happen if the county rolled back, re-allocated, or otherwise monkeyed with the half-cent sales tax that funds CATS to the tune of $1 million a week.
Very interesting question, one I’d love to hear Parks Helms address. Is there no upper cost limit which the South Blvd. line can hit that will change his mind about the transit plan? For that matter, where do all the commissioners stand on continued funding for CATS?
Right now, it is very clear that new federal funding formulas make it very unlikely that additional CATS light rail lines will be funded by the feds. The South Blvd. line was the easy one and it only got $193 million of its $427 million, $450 million, $500 million, perhaps $600 million budget from the feds.
There is also the angle regarding the Wachovia Arts Tower package and the car rental tax hike, AKA the Taxpayer Sodomization Act of 2006, which we have noted. Technically, the car rental tax, as approved by the General Assembly, is another transit tax.
The city of Charlotte is supposed to take current transit dollars out of the General Fund and use them to fund the arts projects (that is why your property taxes were raised a few months ago, not for police officers, silly). CATS would then be funded by both the half-cent sales tax and the car rental tax. Follow?
Together those two dedicated sources of money could then be used to — ta da, you city of bankers you — finance hundreds of millions in continued train-building money.
Now nevermind how CATS would pay to operate all this stuff — Ron Tober, Pam Syfert and maybe Pat McCrory know that once you build the stuff, somebody can be made to pay for it.
But unless somebody stops them in, oh, the next six weeks or so — Mecklenburg will be on the hook for millions — forever.
