Sunday editorial: Yes to Proposition M
St. Louis County voters will be asked Nov. 4 to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to provide funds for public transportation — sustaining the current Metro transit system and providing for future expansion of MetroLink light rail.
A sleeper issue, Proposition M has been caught up in a debate about failed lawsuits and allegations about improper financial management at Metro. In fact, it is an economic development issue. If you think the sale of Anheuser-Busch or the closing of the Chrysler plant was a problem for St. Louis, wait’ll you see what happens if Prop M fails.
Simply put, the outcome of the sales tax vote will influence whether St. Louis remains competitive among metropolitan regions that are trying to attract top talent, top jobs and other economic opportunities.
Dynamic public transportation — systems that are smart, efficient and convenient — is a key indicator of a community’s confidence and vibrancy. Our region has made major strides toward creating such a system with its $1.4 billion investment (bus and rail) over the past decade. But many voters still need to know what’s in it for them.
Only 8 percent of county residents tell pollsters they regularly ride the Metro system. Forty-five percent say they use the system for special events. The rest never get on a bus or train. Why should they pay a nickel more in taxes for every $10 they spend?
The answer: Because the people of our community who do use and depend on the transit system are an essential cog in the local economy on which all of us depend. They’re the men and women who keep our hospitals and nursing homes operating; the people who cook the food, serve the meals, bus the tables and wash the dishes in the restaurants we patronize; the people who help find us shoes and cell phones and hammers and baby clothes in thousands of retail stories, and countless other businesses large and small.
Without public transit, many couldn’t get to work. Without public transit, the worlds of many elderly or disabled transit riders would shrink. Ask not for whom the buses and trains run; one way or another, in an era of $4-a-gallon gasoline, global climate change and economic hard times, they run for all of us.
Proposition M’s defeat would force Metro to make deep cuts in service early next year. Trains and buses would run less frequently and serve fewer areas. Plans to expand MetroLink would be put on hold indefinitely.
A scaled-back system would mean less federal operating support. The inability to raise local matching funds would mean missed opportunities for capital subsidies. And given the very long planning and budgeting process that transportation systems require, we would be living with the consequences of those missed opportunities for years to come.
Metro faces a $45 million shortfall in its operating budget, and, yes, some of the problem is of its own making: poor planning on the Cross County MetroLink extension, flawed judgment and poor oversight of its failed lawsuit against the Cross County’s construction managers. Larry Salci, the agency’s former president, ran roughshod over a sleepy board of commissioners.
But most of the shortfall was beyond the agency’s control, a toxic combination of cutbacks in state, federal and county support and new accounting rules. Metro’s strong new management needs an alert, involved and astute board of commissioners and active support from the politicians on both sides of the river who appoint them.
Prop M would raise an estimated $80 million a year. Half would be used for ongoing operations, with the remainder banked for future MetroLink expansion. Approval in St. Louis County also would trigger a similar sales tax in the city that voters approved in 1997.
Too often public transit is misperceived as a social service for the poor; it is, in fact, a crucial tool for economic development. To change that skewed public perspective, the members of our region’s business and civic community need to realize that writing a check, while necessary, is not enough. This is a time for leadership, not merely lip service.
Sarah - Portland is a wonderful city, and if I was in my 20s, single, and had no attachments to St. Louis, it would be high on my list of places to consider. So would Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and Boston. But believe me, St. Louis + Metro still is still St. Louis. All the things which caused you to choose Portland over St. Louis would still be equally true. So let’s not pretend that the only difference between St. Louis and Portland is an $80 million transit tax. If that was true, I’d be calling ACORN to find out how I could vote for it twice!
Charlie Dooley raised our property taxes 25% last year and the same this year. See Charlie…he has the stolen money.
No new taxes…not when unarmed robbery is committed by him and the dem majority on the county council on homeowners in STL County.
A pox on all of their houses!!!
Half the ridership of metrolink does not pay, thus instant revenue generation once fixed. Then, less shoplifting and gang activity at Galleria and the Loop.
I am voting “Yes” becasue gas prices are terrible. I am sure that much of us want cleaner air. You would surely get in trouble if you steal gasoline. Maybe when the tractor motors begin to start, maybe the operator of some of the machines may have to take a swing at jjk’s fantasy land. I know that hurts too. We need to keep the air clean. Drunk driving is plain stupid. Public transit is your way to stay out of trouble. Without the bus or rail, people especailly the disabled and senior citizens are stuck without good quality transportation. Call-a-Ride is even going Chevy for their vans and they are getting rid of their Fords as they had too many problems with them.
alwaysmore,
I may have to have those tractors take your fantasy lande and demolish it. Do you like clean air or dirty? Transit Oriented Development cleans the city. Charlie Dooley does NOT steal money. Tell the truth. Do you care about people with disabilties or not. Do you care about senior citizens or not.
This is one of the few times I actually agree with a PD editorial. This proposition needs to pass. Services will be eliminated, services that help the people who need them the most. Jobs will also be lost, as Metro will be cutting routes, cutting the number of drivers, the number of mechanics who work on the buses, etc. Missouri already has a comparatively low sales tax, 1/2 cent doesn’t translate to that much more in the grand scheme of things.
I, like sarah, am one of the young twenty something memebers of society that thinks St. Louis has some major issues. While many St. Louisans may not want to vote for a small tax increase, i fully believe that this sales tax is critical for the region as a whole. I am an urban planner and cannot believe the viewpoints of people who are against this tax increase. I am a graduate of Washu, and out of all my college friends just two (including myself) have stayed in Saint Louis. A lot of them have moved to NYC, Chicago, some in Denver, San Francisco, and one in Portland. My friends have often said they have no reason to stay here because in their own words: “St. Louis is stuck in a time warp.” Reasons cited for leaving are generally along the same lines of “i dont want to own a car, i dont want to have to commute 30 mins to get to work” but most importantly they want to live somewhere that has other young people who want to live in fully functioning cities. Believe it or not, but fully functioning cities (those with good jobs, walkable communities, better urban schools etc.) generally have good public transit (With the latest expansion- we are getting there). It has been nearly 4 years post college and i am currently at a tipping point with St. Louis county residents. I live in the city, and i am a graduate student who cannot afford a car. I rely on metrolink, bus, and bike to get me around. I often work in clayton, and the fact come next fiscal year i may have to considerably change my schedule just because some people refuse to pay a nickle for every ten dollars they spend is absurd. Infact, absurd to the point that i too may leave for a city such as D.C, New York , Portland or Denver. For those of you who might be thinking about voting no on proposition M, ask around a group of local college grads and see what their plans are? How many of them plan on staying in Saint Louis? I think you will find most are strongly considering leaving. For me, this is a huge shame as Saint Louis is a great town and could be excellent. Perhaps also at fault are local colleges and businesses who fail to recruit top graduates. Yet, the sad fact is the more young people we lose, the more the region suffers. We have a serious brain drain in Saint Louis, and i believe this is partly due to our inability to adapt and change and expand services that the other “cool” cities have. While i have strayed away from the pure economics of the issue, public transit is essential in order to grow Saint Louis. I am sorry, but for older county residents intent on keeping the status quo of hating increased taxes (which are a reality in any society), and not supporting anything that doesnt effect you directly, you may want to start saving money to visit your children or grandchildren living in Portland, Oregon because they gave up on the city.
As a St. Louisan born and bred and who now lives in Louisville, KY, I offer this quote from the eminent Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: “I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Here in Louisville, we pay a hefty occupation tax, a good chunk of which goes to support our local transit system. I’m glad to pay it, regardless of how often I ride the bus, for exactly the reasons outlined by the PD: it helps fuel our local economic engine. Regrettably, civilization has taken it on the chin in this countryy ever since Ronald Reagan foisted upon us the idea that reduced taxes could somehow produce increased government revenues and prosperity for all. As is painfullly obvious today, tax cuts (mainly for the wealthy) and deregulation have resulted world civilization on the brink of financial, environmental and even moral catastrophe. One more point: the notion that government is always the problem and markets aree always the solution has been debunked once and for all. Markets are no more efficient than government, which is now coming to the rescue. Human beings are flawed, whether they work for GM or Metro. I urge St. Louisans to vote in favor of civilization; vote Yes for Proposition M.
Most people see Prop M and think MetroLink, poor planning, lawsuits, delays, over budgeting. Please, please, everyone!! One of the main reasons for Prop M is for funds to MAINTAIN EXISTING TRANSIT FACILITIES for the physically disabled, such as Call-A-Ride and MetroBus. Please vote yes on Prop M and ask all your family and friends to vote yes also. Don’t you or they have a disabled family member that needs transportation?
I’m tired of driving to work. I live off 44 and want to take a rail downtown for work, events, dining, etc. I’ve lived and spent time in suburbs around Virginia, Chicago, Atlanta, and there’s no comparison to Saint Louis. I fully support a sales tax increase to fund future expansion of metro. Anyone who wants to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, wants to see less wealth transfer to middle east, wants to reduce green house gases, etc should vote for this measure and going forward demand that our leaders invest more in this important infrastructure.