BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Staff Writer

A regional transit system is needed to attract business and younger talent, according to Oakland County Executive David Coulter.
“The county executive has the goal to have a transit question on the ballot this fall. However, he wants to get the plan right first,” said Bill Mullan, media and communications officer for the county executive. “He would rather take the time to get the right plan that addresses the needs of all Oakland County communities rather than put just any plan on the 2020 ballot.”
Investment in transit in comparable regions such as Pittsburgh and Columbus helps their regions thrive, Mullan said.
“Our large employers want a transit solution to help get employees to jobs. Some companies do not choose Southeast Michigan because of the lack of transit,” he said. “Plus, we need to ensure the elderly and those who live with disabilities have access to improved transit options.”
According to the county, a Regional Transit Authority would benefit Independence Township by providing services to transport seniors and the handicapped in the community to their doctor, hairdresser, or grocery store.
However, the township already provides transportation to 1,000 seniors and handicapped people every month at a $30,000 annual cost, said Independence Township Supervisor Pat Kittle.
“I know I am not the sharpest tack in the box, but I thought my job as the township supervisor is to make sure township tax dollars are spent in the most efficient manner possible to benefit our township,” Kittle said. “Until someone communicates an RTA plan that makes economic, environmental and quality of life sense, I will continue to speak out against what I perceive as a RTA money grab. Every township supervisor belonging to the Oakland County Association of Township Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution opposing HB 5229 and the RTA as explained to us. I guess we might want to consider changing our name to the ‘Coalition of the Unwilling’ Township Supervisors.”
On Jan. 21, Coulter and other regional leaders gathered at the Detroit Free Press Breakfast Club to discuss the transit issue in front of an audience at the Townsend Hotel.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about the proposed amendments to the Municipal Partnership Act, which have bipartisan support,” Mullan said. “One example is 5 mills for transit. That’s way off base. The MPA, passed in 2011, has a 5 mill cap already in the law regardless of the current amendments. There is no intention of developing a transit plan that would require that high of a millage. The amendments to the MPA will be another tool in the toolbox for finding a regional transit solution.”
A 1.4 mill plan is more likely, he said.
Independence taxpayers would still be left holding the bag with no discernible benefit, Kittle said.
“That’s really good news as the Independence RTA annual contribution would fall from an estimated $8.35 million per year at 5 mills to $2.5 million per year at 1.5 mills, but still really bad news,” he said.
The next step includes state government passing amendments to the Municipal Partnership Act (MPA) in Lansing. That would enable each county to determine its own transit footprint, require a vote of each county’s board of commissioners to put transit on the ballot, and require a vote of the people.
The revised legislation, according to Coulter’s office, includes allowing for approval of a municipal partnership levy by a majority vote within each participating jurisdiction, exempts municipal partnerships from millage caps in the same way as other regional initiatives, such as the DIA and Zoo authorities, are exempt. This eliminates the possibility of millage rollbacks to improve bonding capacity and ensures cost-effective borrowing and protects municipal partnership tax revenues from DDA or TIF captures, so funds are guaranteed to go to the specific purpose approved by voters.
The proposed Municipal Partnership Act in Lansing should include an opt-out provision, Kittle said.
“The township supervisors understand there is no firm RTA plan,” he said.
Coulter wants to engage all Oakland County communities, including those that didn’t support the RTA plan in 2016, to learn what value the plan would have for them. That process is ongoing with meet-and-greets, and his staff has been engaging municipal leaders, including the township supervisors, in order to have their feedback, Mullan said.
“The first item to clear up is there is no current RTA millage and no current RTA plan,” Coulter said in a statement. “The resolutions are opposing a plan that does not yet exist.”
The RTA proposal could create a new tax of up to 5 mills on Oakland, Wayne, and Washtenaw County residents, collecting up to an estimated total of $3.16 billion over 20 years.
State Rep. Jason Sheppard, sponsor of the bill, is pushing HB 5229, legislation that would give the RTA “coalition of the willing” county executives and their respective commissioners the authority to put a RTA millage question on the ballot.
If approved, voters in Oakland, Wayne, and Washtenaw counties would cast their ballots on Nov. 8, deciding the issue as a single entity.
The funds would be used on regional transportation projects in Southeast Michigan such as bus service for commuters and seniors and residents with handicaps.