Posted on 03/10/2010 12:12:17 PM PST by a fool in paradise
The Metropolitan Transit Authority intends to issue an estimated $2.6 billion in bonds in the next four years to help pay for five new light rail lines, about four times the debt capacity voters authorized in a 2003 referendum, Metro officials confirmed Tuesday.
Metro leaders insist the borrowing will not exceed the $640 million debt ceiling set by voters because the agency is allowed other borrowing capacity by state law, and much of the bonds will be paid with money from ridership fares.
But critics sharply criticized the plans as going far beyond what voters approved, noting that revenues from ridership fares fail to pay Metro's operating expenses.
Borrowing money backed by fares will make it necessary to use more sales tax revenues for operations, an underhanded way of using more sales tax funds to pay for rail than the referendum allows, said Houston lawyer and light rail critic Bill King.
King said Metro's claim that it is not violating a promise to voters is “pure sophistry.”
“This is just a different deal than what they made with voters in 2003,” he said. “And if the voters want to approve that, that's fine, but they ought to go back and ask the voters if they're OK with spending three times as much and borrowing four times as much as they were told in 2003.”
Metro President and CEO Frank Wilson said the agency does not have to ask for voter approval for the additional debt because it would be paid for with sales taxes, fare revenues and federal grants.
“If you read the referendum, there are a number of sources in there that we're allowed to use that doesn't require us to go back (to voters),” he said...
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
A rail to Galveston. Reminds me of when someone wrote to Al Gore to save the Texas Eagle train.
“Thank you for your letter regarding the protection of the Texas eagle....”
Well, at least yours runs. In Austin, we’ve been paying for rail service for two years and it still isn’t open to the public. But that hasn’t stopped them from lobbying for a second train route.
I thought in Austin there is a line that goes from the convention center a few blocks into downtown.
For years we heard that Houston’s rail had collisions with cars because Houstonians didn’t know how to drive. Then we had a high profile collision between our death train and a Metro bus.
Do you remember what his response to the people dying on I45 during Rita Was?
The outragous stunt of running to the Gallery Furniture Fire,was typical of his level of priorities.
You know don’t you that the cameras and safe tow thing was to cover the financial nightmare his predecessor Brown, yet ANOTHER Clinton lackey left to Houston.
I mean come on. a month before Brown leaves office he gives all his appointees a big raise. Then what happens they all retire with their retirments based on the last month salary.
Even a blind man can figure out that one.
NOTHING and I mean NOTHING that Dums conjure up, Metro included, ALWAYS has a big payoff for Some group. And who pays, WE DO. This Metro thing reeks of the Enron type deals with the Clinton Administration.
I think Mayor Brown’s corrupt administration may extend into this scandal:
Monica Conyers Gets 37 Months In Prison!
WXYZ ^ | 03/10/10 | Various
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2468141/posts
“Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers was sentenced for her role in a city corruption scandal. Conyers pleaded guilty to conspiracy last summer and admitted taking cash in exchange for supporting a $1.2 billion dollar contract with Houston-based Synagro Technologies.”
I was out of Houston , living in Dallas for a year. It looks like they made a turn at Cummings to Westpark. Glad the residents didn’t lose their property values, from this anyway.
No doubt. We have been 10 years under the nightmare of Clinton cronies. When will people EVER wake up. Made the collapse of the oil industry along with NASA MIGHT shake them up. One can HOPE for CHANGE.
Except of course it won’t get more riders anywhere equal to the cost of the more boondoggle. They’re going to spend billions to build more rail that will be ridden by thousands wasting the money of all.
Light rail should be declared a crime, it’s a blatant ripoff, all politicians that support it should be immediately impeached and thrown out, don’t even let them hang around long enough for the next election, they’ll just find something else to screw up.
When interacting with them, it becomes apparent that Houston Metro is simply a make-work operation designed to employ the lowest examples of our society. And by “examples” I mean racist, ghetto trash that are openly hostile to white people, while at the same time being dependant upon them to get their jobs done. The incompetence that goes on in their building, in all departments, is amazing.
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