The Carver County Board of Commissioners has voted to oppose Gov. Mark Dayton's proposal to add a 0.25 percent sales tax that would fund new transit in metro counties.
But the Counties Transit Improvement Board, made up of metro area county officials, voted this week to support the tax.
Carver board members said transit ridership in their county wouldn't justify new light rail lines there, and that a new tax in this economy is not a good idea, said the Pioneer Press.
But the Counties Transit Improvement Board supports the plan. The board has voting members from Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties, and collaborates with the Metropolitan Council and Carver and Scott counties.
Its chair, Peter McLaughlin from Hennepin County, said:
"Not only are we competing for scarce federal dollars to build transit investments like the Southwest Light Rail Line, we are also competing with other regions to attract companies and talent. Using the metro area sales tax as a long-term funding source allows the region to plan ahead and build the kinds of transit investments Minnesota needs."
The counties group says the added transit tax, if approved by the Legislature, would provide funding for "new light rail transit, bus rapid transit or commuter rail lines to serve major corridors; expanding the bus system to meet growing ridership across the region; and providing a long-term source of funding to stabilize operating budgets."