With federal funding for transportation uncertain, several states will be voting on state and local revenue measures this November.
For instance, Pinellas County Florida (St. Petersburg) will decide whether or not to raise the sales tax to build a light-rail system and add buses to the road. They currently fund transit with property taxes that generate $30 million a year. The sales tax would provide an estimated $130 million in revenue and would replace the property tax as the funding mechanism.
In Clayton County, Georgia, voters will vote on a penny sales tax to restore local transit operations. Clayton County originally ran its own bus service, but the service was cancelled four years ago and this measure would both restore service and connect the service to the regional MARTA system. When their bus service was canceled, employers realized how much their employees depended on the system to get to work everyday, and a good transit connection made that work possible.
Massachusets will also be voting on a three cent gas tax, indexed to inflation, all the while requiring the state’s transportation agencies to raise more money from tolls, fees, fares, and others. The plan was passed by the legislature and voters will weigh in in November.
In the next year, CMT will be looking at creative funding strategies for transit in Missouri including what worked in other communities.
Article source found on the world wide web, October 20, 2014: http://t4america.org/2014/10/08/important-state-and-local-transportation-measures-will-be-decided-at-the-ballot-this-year/