If the first meeting of the Metropolitan and Development Committee on the proposed permanent quarter percent income tax increase to fund bus rapid transit is any indication, you are going to be in for a year of nothing but disinformation by the proponents and a complete abandonment of any serious inquiry of the proposal before them by those we've elected to represent us on the Indianapolis City-County Council.
The one point that came through loud and clear that everyone must understand is that proposed income tax increase is a permanent income tax increase to support IndyGo, and the additional income tax revenues are needed both for the additional construction costs of up to three bus rapid transit lines planned for construction over a 5-year period and for the permanent ongoing operating costs of the expanded IndyGo. There will be no property tax relief from the nearly $50 million you already fork over annually in property taxes to support IndyGo.
What the income tax increase guarantees is an immediate 54% increase in the annual operating budget of IndyGo from $70 million to $108 million. Contrary to the state law which allows IndyGo to seek approval of voters to levy a quarter percent income tax for mass transit expansion, IndyGo will continue to rely on the fare box for just 17% of the costs required to operate the bus system. The law passed by the state legislature specifically required the fare box receipts cover 25% of the operating costs of the expanded transportation system. IndyGo's BRT plan to tap $75 million in FTA grant money for the project assumes a fare box return of just 17% of the system's operating costs.
Incredibly, IndyGo planners claim they can construct the Red Line in 2017, a Purple Line in 2019 and a Blue Line in 2020 for just $390 million. The costs for all three lines is much closer to $1 billion than it is to $390 million. IndyGo expects to rely on federal grant money for 60% of those costs. Clearly, the additional income tax increase is needed for both construction and operating costs. Yet officials told non-discerning members of the Metropolitan and Development Committee that no income tax revenues would be used to pay for construction costs. The numbers simply don't add up.
As Advance Indiana reported earlier this week, IndyGo is telling council members it can build BRT lines for a little more than $7 million a mile. That's less than 50% of the cost BRT lines have cost in other cities where the costs run anywhere in the range of $15 to $25 million per mile. Even if IndyGo plans to rely on just the fare box to recover just 17% of the cost of operating the BRTs, it's relying on extremely rosy projections that ridership of the city's bus lines will increase by at least 178% once BRTs are brought on line.
The $96 million initially being budgeted for the Red Line covers just a 13.6 mile stretch from 66th Street south to the University of Indianapolis. IndyGo plans to rely on the City's TIF fund to help make up the $21 million in additional dollars it will need to construct Phase 1 of the Red Line, which would prove to be the least costly BRT ever constructed in the United States if it can actually be built for that cost. IndyGo officials acknowledged there are other complimentary infrastructure costs that will have to be paid out of the Department of Public Works budget that are not included in the $96 million budget. Nobody presented any figures on what those added construction costs in DPW's budget will be.
You had to watch in disbelief as none of the council members who serve on this committee asked a single probing question of the presenters of this ambitious and costly public works project. It's quite obvious they're more concerned about padding the wallets of their campaign contributors who are lining up to cash in when the contracts for this boondoggle are let than what the long-term cost implications are to the taxpayers they pretend to represent, who will be left holding the bag when the bills come due. Unfortunately, only a handful of people bothered to show up to testify at the public hearing and those were mostly business and special interest lobbyists whose opinions are useless to thoughtful deliberations. When a concerned citizen would step to the microphone to raise valid questions, they were quickly cut off due to tight restrictions placed on speaking time.
These committee members have already made up their minds. Don't confuse them with the facts. Then people wonder how we wind up with financial debacles like Blue Indy, Vision Fleet and the Regional Operations Center. There's no point in having an elected council if the only role they see for themselves is being wined and dined by the business and special interest groups they rely upon to finance their campaigns and seeing how much they can fatten their wallets while pretending to represent their constituents.
9 comments:
You didn't think McQuillen appointed Colleen Fanning, Jeff Miller and Scott Kreider to that committee to ask any tough questions about the proposal did you? You may as well have put the lobbyists for mass transit on the committee as to having them on the committee to cast a vote.
It is sad that some of our elected officials are only in it for the wealth and power, and the local citizens end up footing the bill. Their should not be any cost over runs on any project, and if there is then the building should eat the cost over runs even if it bankruptcy's them.
What a surprise. America's most worthless City County Council. How DO these people sleep at night???
And they laugh at me when I advocate to DISBAND THE INDIANAPOLIS CITY COUNTY COUNCIL. Who needs this group of useless flesh who would be unable to secure meaningful employment in what remains of the private sector
Indy taxpayers are better off pissing in the wind where at least they will get some return of what is squeezed out of them.
The best that the CCC can do is to not have the Red Line referendum put on the November ballot. The Indiana Statehouse is were these types of proposals are enacted into law and home rule takes an entirely different meaning when operating through Unigov. The initial segment of the Red Line will be built whether we like it or not. TIF money will be spent and the INDOT budget will expand on the backs of Marion County taxpayers.
It always amazes me that some special interests want to continually add more text to support government entities that will not provide any benefit to the vast majority of the public. I live in the area of Indianapolis where there's no sidewalks traffic and road conditions are horrible and when one of the streets go down for repairs it's literally chaos try to navigate around it. Maybe the city of Indianapolis will be better suited to provide the basic services for the people rather than trying to go out and build Advanced Rapid Transit lines that will not benefit the masses. If anyone thinks that the that the quarter percent tax increase on your income tax will be the only increase then you have a rude awakening coming down the line. This is nothing but a giant black hole to throw our money into and a giant Boondock.
There is no right of public officials to commit fraud, overtly or by commission; a problem which invites legal action...
The new Red Line is actually a straight line that will bypass some current routes. May we define rapid transit as less neighborhood stops or will the speed of buses be twice as fast to achieve a reduced 15 minute wait? It would seem that adding a bus or two would have the same result in reducing the maximum wait of 30 minutes. The Red Line College Avenue route logically should end at 66th St. as there is little development from there north to Carmel. If Castleton is your destination, bus 19 runs every 30 minutes from Glendale Mall.
An additional purpose of the .25% local tax is to line the coffers of IndyGo to improve the infrastructure of Blue and Purple lines which will still rely upon the lengthy and uncertain process of obtaining Federal grants. Where tax money will be spent in the meantime is uncertain.
The proposed plan does not even comport to SB 176 as the current plan is to hold ridership fares at 17% of cost while a 50% increase in fares is in order.
If the referendum passes, you can tell the Chamber of Commerce they have taxed my way out of here.
As I understand it, the $75 million Smart Starts money that purportedly has been awarded to build this thing is dependent on Obama's $10/bbl oil tax getting through Congress. Without the tax, there's no $75 million. In the IBJ a few months ago, IndyGo said there was no Plan B. I'm guessing the Banksters showed our illiterate "leaders" Plan B. Pass a referendum. Collateralize the tax and borrow against it to fund construction. I believe that's the scheme. All of the cronies from banking to construction win. Everybody else pays, and it's gonna be a lot more than 0.25% when this is said and done. These people are literally treating the city the way a band of rogue pirates treats a sitting duck on the open sea. It's gonna end the same way, too, because there are no Marines coming to save Indy from its corrupt and morally bankrupt leadership.
It's time to start attending those CCC meetings where there might be a new mascot, in the spirit of chicken succession...
Post a Comment