Charlotte will ask NC legislators about tax hike for transit, roads over GOP objections
The Charlotte City Council Monday advanced a plan to ask state legislators to increase taxes to pay for transportation improvements over the objections of Republican members.
The decision on Monday came during discussion about Charlotte’s federal and state legislative agendas. The vote to pass the agendas was 8-2, with at-large representative James “Smuggie” Mitchell absent. Council members Tariq Bokhari and Ed Driggs, the lone Republicans, also were the sole opposing votes.
The mobility section of the state agenda says the city will work with the General Assembly to get a ballot measure that includes a “permanent source of revenues for regional and local roadway, bicycle, pedestrian, greenway, and public transportation systems.”
Funding for the future of Charlotte’s transportation could come in the form of a sales tax — a line at the bottom of receipts from shopping trips. The Charlotte Area Transit System has relied on a half-cent transit tax to fund itself for more than two decades. Increasing that tax by one penny, or 1%, would transform Charlotte’s transportation system, some officials say. The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, not the City Council, would levy the new tax, the legislative agenda states.
“The way our city’s growing, we cannot afford to not take even a single step or be afraid to take a single step forward,” said Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera, who chairs the committee that finalized the federal and state agendas.
Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston said the move is a big step for the city.
“It does provide a clear message as for where our priorities are,” Winston said.
Local and state Republican criticism
The Republicans on the council weren’t convinced, joining their state colleagues who have offered criticism of Charlotte’s transportation plan.
“It doesn’t incorporate a level of planning and roads first requirement that we’ve heard from the legislature,” Bokhari said.
In January, N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican, blasted the city’s transit plan, saying it needed to focus more on roads and less on public transit and bike lanes — significant because Republicans control both bodies of the legislature and are one seat short in the House of a supermajority in both.
One key part of Charlotte’s plan is the Silver Line, a proposed east-west light rail line. Others include expanding the bus network, adding and repairing roads, expanding cycling infrastructure and investing in sidewalks and safe crossings for pedestrians.
Driggs said he thought the city’s transportation, or mobility, plan wasn’t ready.
“By going in and talking about revenue sources, we will be perceived as already asking for our one cent sales tax and they don’t know what we want to do with it,” Driggs said. “We need to establish a clearer statement.”
Other federal and state requests
The legislative agenda will be presented at the National League of Cities Conference March 26-28.
The state legislative agenda will be presented to legislators by city lobbyist Dana Fenton. No date has been set.
Other federal and state legislative requests include:
▪ Federal funding for construction of a fourth runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport
▪ Federal grant funding for the city bus system and center city improvements
▪ Authorize police departments to create non-sworn units to investigate non-lethal traffic accidents
▪ Increasing the Homestead Act threshold to support older adults aging in place
This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 9:58 PM.
