Councilman urged to fight for transit tax - James Mitchell plans to push this Summer to keep half-cent sales tax

Paper: Charlotte Observer, The (NC)

Date: June 24, 2007

Residents of Charlotte's District 2 had a strong message about transit last week for their City Council representative, James Mitchell: Get out there and fight to keep the half-cent sales tax for transit programs.

"It seems like the vote for repealing the tax is a proxy for a larger vision issue" about Charlotte's future, said First Ward resident Mark Peres.

He wants Mitchell and other elected officials to "put your political capital on the line."

Mitchell said his big push will start later this summer.

The transit issue has gotten hot so quickly that it wasn't on the original agenda distributed June 6 for Tuesday's meeting at Little Rock AME Zion Church in uptown Charlotte. But a group opposed to the half-cent sales tax for transit services succeeded in giving voters a chance to repeal the tax in November, and the issue was added to the agenda.

Charlotte officials have started to rally support for the tax.

Transit chief Ron Tober told the town hall meeting that two-thirds of the $65.5 million in 2006 sales-tax revenues fund current bus service. The city has increased bus routes from 45 to 76 in nine years, and grown ridership from 11.4 million to 19 million trips per year.

Malachi Greene, who represented District 2 when voters approved the sales tax in 1998, urged Tober to revisit transit planners' decision to give a Beatties Ford Road trolley line third priority after rail lines to University City and north Mecklenburg.

Also Tuesday:

Redistricting - Voting precinct 89, in Coulwood, has been split to meet state election rules, Mitchell said. The southern corner has been moved to District 3, represented by Warren Turner.

Neighborhood Improvement Plans - Lincoln Heights/Wilson Heights residents can learn about work there at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Macedonia Baptist Church, 1300 Hateras Avenue. For details, call Carl Jarrett, 704-336-4123.

Author: RICH HAAG, RHAAG@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM

Section: MECKLENBURG NEIGHBORS

Page: 4M