Metro sales tax officially resurrected; message in focus
KMOX
December 2, 2009
by Michael Calhoun
Last spring, Chesterfield opened its wallet to prevent transit cuts in west county. Now, the town's mayor is heading up efforts to find permanent funding for Metro.
"After what happened this year, people are now very aware public transportation and the cuts and what it meant to the region," John Nations says.
St. Louis County Councilmembers Tuesday officially resurrected that half-cent sales tax to fund Metro and introduced it for consideration. A tentative vote will happen next week.
Nations says there's little federal help and no state funding, so it's all on Saint Louisans.
"A lot of people rely on businesses which rely on public transporation even though they themselves don't ride it," he says of the message to come ahead of April's election.
The half-cent sales tax would generate about $80-million each year.
Look at the campaign finance reports, he says, and you'll find both Republicans and Democrats agreeing on that.
In the face of $45-million deficit, Metro earlier this year slashed service to parts of the region. A state bail-out helped restore some of those routes.
