Oakland’s Patterson, Macomb’s Hackel Unlikely to Campaign for Transit

Voters in four counties will decide in November’s general election on a funding mechanism for a $4.7 billion plan to expand regional transit, but two powerful county executives whose concerns nearly scuttled the proposal aren’t expected to campaign for its passage.

The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan approved ballot language for the proposal, which would impose a 20-year, 1.2-mill property tax increase to pay for additional bus lines, rail from Detroit to Ann Arbor and improved access to airports.

Modernizing the regional transit system is important to help residents who don’t have without cars get to the suburbs, where job growth is centered, to school and to cultural and entertainment opportunities, transit advocates said.

If the funding proposal is approved on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, it likely won’t be with the help of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and his counterpart in Macomb County, Mark Hackel. They agreed to the deal approved Thursday morning, albeit reluctantly. Wayne and Washtenaw counties are also part of the RTA.

“I’m a little reluctant to get out front and carry the banner in the parade,” Patterson told The Detroit News. “I told them that was my intention all along. I always said it should be left to the voters, and they should be free of my attempt to influence them.”

The average homeowner would pay an additional $7.92 a month, or about $95 a month. The owner of a $200,000 home would pay about $120 annually. Patterson thinks voters in Oakland, Macomb and western Wayne counties, who don’t receive additional transit services, will balk at the tax increase and vote against the funding measure.

Hackel said he won’t actively oppose the proposal, but he won’t be a cheerleader for it, either.

“Am I going to get out there and push it? I don’t know that I’m going to get out there and do commercials and all that other stuff for it,” Hackel told The Detroit News. “If people ask, I’m going to say it makes sense for the region, and it’s going to bring some benefits to Macomb County but let them decide with their wallets.”

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans said the compromise reached “makes progress on an intractable problem that has dogged this region for 50 years,” but it’s up to citizens to bring it across the finish line.

“Our citizens will get to decide whether our communities, which make up this region, deserve a significantly improved public transportation system,” Evans said in a statement. “This is an important decision for the citizens of this region. They will have to ask themselves a question; should we join virtually every other urban area in the country in recognizing the importance of an efficient and effective public transportation system.”

Related

➤ Oakland, Macomb Objections Scuttle Regional Transit Vote
➤ County Execs Accused of Playing Politics on $4.65B Transit Plan
➤ RTA Falls Short of Votes Needed to Put Transit Funding on Ballot
➤ Why Did Execs in Oakland and Macomb Counties Derail Transit Plan? Tell Us
➤ Last-Minute Deal Salvages $4.65B Mass Transit Plan

Southeast Michigan is the only major urban area in the country without a viable, coordinated public transit system, RTA board chair Paul Hillegonds said in a statement.

The deal reached Thursday resolves issues Patterson, Hackel and their counties’ representatives had with the governance structure. Instead of a simple majority, one vote of approval from each county and the city of Detroit would need to approve financial decisions.

Oakland County would also get about $40 million more over the life of the mill levy for its 40 communities, to $118 million over the $79 million originally proposed. Several Oakland County communities have opted out of the suburban SMART bus system, but under the plan approved Thursday, more communities would be served under the master plan, especially as it relates to services for the elderly and disabled.

RTA Chief Executive Officer Michael Ford said in a statement that the new plan “keeps the transit we have now, creates greater efficiency, and introduces premium transit options for the first time in our region.”

“It provides coordination and regional connections to provide a seamless network that connects people to jobs, to healthcare, to education and to opportunity,” he said. “This plan moves our region light years ahead and makes us competitive with the rest of the nation.”

The proposal will require a majority of the votes cast among all four counties in November to go into effect.

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