On Monday morning the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority (RTA) voted for a stable, sufficient and dedicated local funding source for local transit including the KRM Commuter Rail. By a vote of 6 to 1, the RTA approved a report that includes seeking a half percent increase in the sales tax in the three county region (Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha). Naturally, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s appointee to the RTA was the lone vote against progress. Even the appointee of his Republican counterpart in Racine voted in favor of the plan. After today’s supermajority vote it will now go to the Governor and the legislature. Now is the time for people to encourage their public officials to fully support this important investment in our infrastructure.
A new poll shows that there is strong support among the general population in the three-county region for raising the local sales tax to fund and expand public transit and to remove it from the property tax. This poll comes on the heels of Milwaukee County voters passing a referendum to modestly raise sales tax to remove transit, parks and others important services from the property tax. The same poll revealed that a full 82 percent say that it is important for the greater Milwaukee region to have a modern efficient transportation system. They further agreed that such a system would be essential to the economic growth of the region.
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