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The city of Charlotte attempted to sketch scenarios Monday for how it could pay for a $457 million streetcar, with a citywide property-tax increase a key part of most plans.
The city recently hired URS Corp. to begin design work on the 10-mile line for $4.5 million. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory had vetoed that decision, saying the city needed a plan to pay for the line before spending the design money. The Democratic majority on the council overturned that veto, letting the project progress.
The council's transportation committee reviewed seven options for paying for the line.
The city has hoped it could borrow money for the streetcar by leveraging taxes from new development along the line. New development could generate $112.2 million in revenue over 20 years, according to a projection.
The city could also create a special taxing district for homes and businesses along the line, which could raise $57.3million over 20 years. That would be a tax increase of 4cents for every $100 of taxable value.
To raise the rest of the streetcar money - $287.5 million - the city could enact a citywide tax increase of 2 cents for every $100 of taxable value.
Other scenarios involved receiving $75 million in federal funding and $37.5 million in state money. If that happens, it could lower any needed tax increase.
Another option was to get permission to increase the vehicle registration fee by $30 annually, which could raise $234million.
The streetcar would run from the Rosa Parks Transit Center on Beatties Ford Road to Eastland Mall, via Trade Street uptown. The streetcar was supposed to be built by the Charlotte Area Transit System, but it has been shifted to a city project, in part because CATS doesn't have the money to build it.
It's possible the final cost could be less than projected. The city hopes it won't need to build overhead wires to power the streetcars, relying instead on new technology, perhaps a hydrogen fuel cell. Not building the overhead wires could cut construction costs 25 percent.
The city also might build the streetcar in phases. If it built a three-mile line through uptown only, it would need only about $200 million.
The city's work on the streetcar comes as CATS moves forward with plans to build an 11-mile light-rail extension and a commuter-rail line to Lake Norman.
Three north Mecklenburg towns that would benefit from the commuter train have been lobbying for that, causing some to worry that Mecklenburg County is no longer unified in planning new transit. The Metropolitan Transit Commission is tasked with deciding when and where the county expands transit.
"I'm concerned the MTC is unraveling," said Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess. "It's worrisome that we're not speaking with one voice. We should try and stick together."
