Transit Tax Opponents Launch Offensive

(Originally published Oct. 5, 2016) METRO DETROIT, MI — The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance and Wayne County Taxpayers Association have launched an initiative encouraging voters to say "no" in November to a regional transit tax plan. Their campaign, NoMassiveTransitTax.org, includes a website with a calculator feature that allows taxpayers to figure the amount levied on their property if the measure passes.

Voters in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties will be asked Nov. 8 to support the 1.2-mill, 20-year Regional Transit Authority (RTA) plan. The plan, a last-minute initiative, will add bus lines, connect Detroit and Ann Arbor with rail and improve access to airport.

Mass transit advocates say the plan addresses gaps that make it difficult for some residents to get to and from work school and other activities. According to the RTA, this would cost the average homeowner an additional $95 per year. Opponents, however, say homeowners with a house valued at $100,000 would pay $120 more in taxes per year, on top of $100 a year already levied for the service.

“The tax proposal simply asks for too massive of an increase, a 120 percent increase in mass transit property taxes for most homeowners,” Leon Drolet, treasurer for NoMassiveTransitTax.org, told The Oakland Press.

The opposition campaign argues residents are already paying taxes for the services covered in the proposed tax increase, traffic congestion would result through “bus only” lanes and the plan blocks transit innovation.

On the committee’s website, residents enter the taxable value of their home and the cost of the tax increase on their home is then calculated for them. Simon Haddad, vice chairman of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, said the cost outweighs the proposed benefits to the region.

“Voters need to know that we could lease a new Chevrolet Trax SUV every two years for every mass transit user in metro Detroit using the money already spent on mass transit — and have $150 million left over,” said Haddad. “This plan is a big cash grab without adequate efficiencies like privatizing operations built into the proposal.”

The RTA plan would expand local and commuter bus service, provide connections among the four-county region and add commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor, as well as bus rapid transit on major corridors, airport service and more para-transit funding.

But the anti-tax campaign says the millage is a massive transit tax hike on top of what residents already pay for through gas taxes, vehicle registration fees and existing transit millages, such as for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.

Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a spokeswoman for Citizens for Connecting our Communities, pushed back against the anti-millage campaign.

“It’s not unusual to see an opposition effort attempted, and this one is like many others we’ve seen: full of misguided half-truths led by a group so deeply entrenched in anti-tax rhetoric they choose to ignore the deep needs of the very community they claim to serve,” Rossman-McKinney told the Detroit Free Press. "Citizens for Connecting our Communities is confident the voters of southeast Michigan will vote yes to connect Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties to help people get to and from work with reliable transportation, to help seniors and people with disabilities live more independently, and boost economic development."

Regional business leaders have stressed the importance of regional transportation in helping southeast Michigan compete globally.

“As we’ve expanded our business model to be both an automotive and mobility company, we understand the importance of providing transportation solutions like those proposed in the regional transit plan,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of the Americas, said in a news release. “A strong regional transit system that meets the mobility needs of both employees and employers is important for our region to grow and compete.”
In addition, the campaign issued what it called a Disconnected Transit Challenge, asking people to post stories of difficult commutes on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #disconnectedtransit. The campaign says the contest will use an online poll to award a six-month bus pass to the person with the most inspiring story.

Photo via Shutterstock