Will Voters Turn Down the Regional Transit Authority Master Plan in November?
“There will be strong opposition to this Detroit regional tax increase,” said former state representative, Tom McMillin today. McMillin said that one of the reasons the proposed property tax increase is so large is because the taxing authority is likely assuming riders will only end up paying 10% – 20% of the cost of service. “Why shouldn’t riders pay at least 50% of the cost?” asked McMillin.
Tom McMillin
McMillin noted, “The mass transit subsidy increase was one of the reasons Prop 1 went down 80-20 last year. Taxpayers are tired of riders paying so little of the cost of the service. Also, if this Detroit-based government entity doesn’t need to rely much on riders’ fares, then customer satisfaction and ridership won’t be very important.”
McMillin added, “Like the debacle known as Proposal 1 last May, there will be tons of folks opposing this large tax hike.”
Finally, McMillin noted that the taxing authority isn’t even being forthcoming about their expected taxpayer subsidy percentage. The authority’s website states that the “Financial Analysis Technical Memorandum” is “coming soon”. And in the Draft Regional Master Transit Plan, “Chapter 8 – Financial Analysis” section of their report, the cash flow analysis is missing. McMillin is a CPA.
Regional Transit Authority Master Plan Summary with VIDEO
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