South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Voters would be wise to reject sales-tax hike for ‘terribly run Metro’

What would be one of the biggest taxpayer ripoffs ever will be on the Nov. 4 ballot in St. Louis County — Proposition M.

It is a half-cent sales-tax hike for the terribly run Metro transit agency and would result in a 100-percent increase in revenue to Metro from county taxpayers.

Metro has been receiving about $90 million annually from the county. This comes from a half-cent sales tax that’s divided between roads and Metro, and all the proceeds from a quarter-cent sales tax. However, County Executive Charlie Dooley and the County Council just reduced the amount about $10 million so Metro can claim it is headed for a deficit.

If the tax is approved, it would mean another $80 million for Metro from the county, for a total of about $160 million a year. It would also mean a quarter-cent sales-tax hike for Metro in the city of St. Louis. In 1997, city voters approved a quarter-cent increase, but county voters did not. It can not go into effect unless county voters approve a similar increase. The amount from the city would go from $27 million to $36 million each year.

Though the county can be expected to provide more funding for the area’s public transit, things have gotten way out of whack. For example, of the $1.1 billion cost — including finance charges — of the eight-mile Cross County MetroLink Extension, county taxpayers will pay about $800 million. The Post-Dispatch named the project “Boondoggle of the Year” for 2005.

In 1990, the county was giving Metro — then known as Bi-State — only $30 million a year. Funding has vastly increased over the years while service has gotten worse. Unless voters want to give more money to an inept transit agency and finance more billion-dollar boondoggles, they would be wise to reject Proposition M.

Tom Sullivan

University City

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