Well, well, well. This is something of a surprise. The RTA is going to take another go at a millage vote this year. It had been expected the narrowly failed 2016 ballot measure - 50.5% No vs. 49.5% Yes - was going to scare off the board until 2020.
The bad news? Certain parties are calling for a total restructing of the agency that would reduce its footprint, and they want politicians on the board instead of appointed representatives, which sounds like a sabotage.
Quote:
Breakthrough nears on mass transit tax in southeast Michigan
Bridge Magazine | January 4, 2018
The new year is bringing a renewed push to bring mass transit to southeast Michigan, following decades of disagreement that’s left the region with the worst public transportation system in the nation.
This month, elected leaders of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb counties and Detroit are expected to jointly announce recommendations that could result in a new plan for regional transit.
Among other proposals, local leaders want government officials to serve on the ten-member Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan board and ensure that only communities served by the system would pay taxes for it, Bridge Magazine has learned.
The changes would require approval from the Legislature, but proponents say they still hope to place a tax request for the improvements on the November ballot.
The announcement, planned on or around Jan. 19, comes 14 months after voters rejected a $3 billion, 20-year tax for buses and trains. The breakthrough comes amid renewed concern about the importance of transit caused by the region’s public bid for Amazon’s $5 billion second headquarters.
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I can tolerate a (temporary) reduction in the service area, so long as it doesn't allow for "holes" in the service area like with SMART. But that starts to get tricky when you have to negotiate with individual municipalities. Either way, this is going to be a way better year to try and pass this thing than 2016, when the national political environment is what ended up narrowly killing the plan.