The St. Louis County Council is currently looking at the annual Bi-State Development appropriation for FY23 to ensure public transit continues to provide access in St. Louis County. At its June 28 meeting, they perfected Bill 176 which supports current operations as well as the future expansion of transit.
During this process, a substitute bill (180) had been introduced, which significantly changed the ratio of funding for public transit via the 1974 transportation sales tax. The Bi-State Development appropriation request for FY23 is $169.5 million. Historically this appropriation is funded through a combination of funding sources, including Prop M quarter-cent sales tax, Prop A half-cent sales tax and the 1974 transportation sales tax, which is split 50:50 between transit and roads. The proposed substitution bill (Bill 180) called for a reduction in the ratio of transit funding through the 1974 transportation sales tax – taking it from 50:50 down to 13:87. This significant decrease would have resulted in just $13.4 million from the 1974 transportation tax being allocated for transit with the remainder from the Prop. A fund (98% of the revenues). This substitute bill was voted down at the June 28 meeting.
A majority of the Council members (4-3) perfected Bill 176 which included the original appropriations split ensuring funding is set aside for transit expansion. Below is the breakdown of funding for the FY23 appropriation included in Bill 176:
Bill 176
1974 sales tax: $44,449,809
Prop A: $68,433,676
Prop M: $52,629,500
Total: $169,512,985
“It is imperative St. Louis County be prepared to ensure current transit operations, as well as future operations and expansion per St. Louis County voters,” said Kim Cella, CMT Executive Director. “Kudos to Council members who support not only the current operations of transit in St. Louis County but the future expansion of transit especially in North County which is closer than it has been in decades with a regional approach to the Northside-Southside corridor.”
The bill will now come up for a vote for the next two weeks before finalized.
Citizens for Modern Transit is urging its members and transit riders in St. Louis County to reach out to Council members to urge them to support Bill 176– by investing 50 percent of the 1974 transportation tax revenues just like it’s been doing for decades.
Click here to access a list of current County Council members. Simply click on their respective photos to gain access each individual’s phone number, email and mailing address.
Thank you in advance for your help. This funding is absolutely imperative to the future of transit in this region.