DALLAS -- The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan plans to ask voters in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties to approve a 1.5 mill property tax increase for improved transit across the region.
If voters approve the property tax increase on the November ballot it would raise an estimated $2.6 billion over 20 years, covering most of the local costs for funding $4.6 billion in proposed transit upgrades. Additional funding would come from state and federal sources as well as fare revenues.
The tax would raise money to build more bus lines, a new rail link between Detroit to Ann Arbor and more direct access to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
"If the millage is approved by voters, all municipalities within the four county RTA jurisdiction will pay it," the RTA said in documents outlining the proposal announced Tuesday. "Communities won't have the option to 'opt out' of the millage."
The RTA, which was created by the Michigan Legislature to work on improving public transportation in Southeast Michigan counties, has been working on the plan for over a year.
The plan includes plans for bus rapid transit, cross-county connectors, and a plan to link up with the under-construction Q-line/M1 streetcar line in Detroit's downtown, according to the RTA.
Southeast Michigan lags far behind other regions in spending on public transportation, according to the organization, which said Michigan is near the bottom of the top 25 urban areas in funding support. The region currently operates a system known as SMART, the suburban bus network, but critics say service is spotty.
"Southeast Michigan needs a better regional transit system that connects Wayne County with our neighboring Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw counties," Wayne County executive Warren C. Evans said in a statement.
Evans and others in the region are hoping that the upgraded transit system will connect people to jobs, opportunities and services and spur economic development that works for and benefits all in the region.
"The detailed and comprehensive master plan released by the RTA of Southeast Michigan is the solution and foundation for that connected, reliable regional transit system we so desperately need. In other regions around the country, significant economic development is occurring around transit like this," he said.
RTA has opened up its proposed plan to a four-week public comment period. It will refine the plan based on the opinions and suggestions it receives and then present it to its 10-member board for approval. The board will vote on the plan, its budget and the language for the ballot proposal.
