Don't Back Down

Though it has been established that many people - and specifically those in Charlotte - do not read what they are signing before they sign it, many of you may well be wondering - and rightfully so - where that leaves things. What will happen if the transit tax is revoked?

First and foremost, everyone purchasing something in Mecklenburg County will save a bit of money with every purchase. That's the good news. And it's probably the end of the good news, especially if you're a resident of the county. Why? Because we've already been told that if the tax is repealed that it will be replaced by higher property taxes. The fact that the citizens don't want the tax - and by extension, the transit plan - is completely irrelevant. The council will do what they want. They showed us that with the arena, and they're going to do it again. Are you used to it yet? I'm not either - so let's see what else we can find out.

First and foremost: If you don't like the tax, and you don't like the way it was implemented, vote to repeal it. Sure, there are plenty of people who are complaining that it's only going to get on the ballot because no one read what they signed. Well, no one read the fine print of the original tax either. We were told it was for light rail, and while perhaps 40 percent of the tax is, the lion's share is going to buses. So get over it. You don't want it, let's get rid of it.

But you also need to get ready for the property tax hike, because it will likely not be far off. There just aren't many alternatives. What about making the whole thing private, you say? I read Tara Servatius too, and she's got a good point. But without taking too long to think about it, just what are you going to privatize around Charlotte? Usually this crops up when you talk turnpikes or bridges or something.

The only assets that Charlotte has or this sort is the airport. I'm not saying the airport isn't worth considering, just that it's not like we have a spare turnpike laying around (though one has been considered near Monroe). The Carolina Panthers own their own stadium, and the Charlotte Bobcats control the arena as part of their deal, so both of those are out. There just isn't that much left - so while the idea has some merit, I don't know if it would work here.

I'd love to see a private company take over Independence and make the project move along at something faster than it's moving now, since it will take another fifty years to complete the widening, at which point, they'll have to start all over. The same could probably be said for the South leg of I-485, but I don't think either really holds much water. Selling the entire outerbelt might make some sense.

Still, I think it's safe to say that Charlotte has debt - plenty of it, in fact, and the only way it's going to be serviced is by raising property taxes (or by keeping the existing sales tax in place). So we need to see what's going to happen, rather than try to look at alternatives - there just aren't any down this road.

What will happen is that Charlotte will continue to make horrible decisions. Outgoing transit chief Ron Tobert recently - a month or so ago - ripped the builder of the South Boulevard trains, mostly because they now aren't going to be able to get the line built in time for the referendum.

It's a longstanding thought of mine that we want our kids to be able to learn from their mistakes, and not to try the same course of action over and over again, when doing nothing to change their progress results in the exact same result. This is what is happening now in Charlotte.

Blindly hoping that things will be done in time so that people can say "wow, what an amazing project, there's no way that we'll vote this tax down now", when there has been nothing but increases and delays is just asinine. When the line started off, it was set to cost $227 million. It rose to $331 million within about 2 years. That's a nice return for anyone. What happened? They actually had someone look at the project plan and agree to try to build it.

Some three years later, the price went up to $386 million. What happened this time? No idea - just time, I guess. By 2005, just eight years after the original plan was set, the "Full Funding Grant Agreement" with the Federal Government set the price at $426.8 million. Don't forget that .8 million. It's obviously important.

But I'm not done. For you and me, "Full Funding" would mean that's it. It's not. The pricetag today sits at $462.7 million, some two years later. Roughly 9 years later, slightly over 100% more than it was supposed to cost. That's not the best return ever, but it's not bad either.

Now, the promise that the line would be done in time for the November vote is, well, bunk. So the chance that the vote will repeal the tax is looking like it will be an interesting one after all.

Oh, and did I mention that the $180,000 that the public spent restoring the old streetcar (#85, to those of you who've ridden it) was completely wasted? Apparently a recent release says that old #85 won't be able to survive in an impact with one of the new trains, so it isn't allowed to run. I guess no one thought of that. Is it any wonder why I don't like politicians? Can you believe this crap?