Matthews has its own message for NC legislature after transportation tax bill is filed
A southeast Mecklenburg town will keep fighting a plan to overhaul the region’s transportation system as the approach shows signs of progress in Raleigh.
Matthews is taking “a strong stand against the transit proposal” introduced in the North Carolina Senate Monday, Mayor John Higdon said in a statement.
Senate Bill 145 would allow Mecklenburg County to put a sales tax referendum on the ballot to decide whether to increase the county’s sales tax by a penny to pay for new rail lines, expanded bus service and road projects. It’s sponsored by a trio of prominent Republican state senators, and legislative leaders on Monday offered optimism about its chances.
But the bill maintains a spending plan laid out in draft legislation last year that caps spending on rail projects at 40% of the new revenue, which would mean changes to the long-planned Silver Line light rail project originally intended to run to Matthews.
That’s a non-starter for Higdon, who remains “committed to fighting for a plan that provides sufficient funding for Silver Line East to be built as light rail all the way to Matthews.”
“Reliable, efficient transportation is critical for economic growth, accessibility, and quality of life, but it must be planned equitably and serve the entire region — not just select areas,” Higdon said in his Monday statement.
Why does Matthews oppose transit bill?
Matthews was the only Mecklenburg community to vote against the draft legislation crafted by local leaders last year over concerns the Silver Line light rail would become a bus rapid transit line.
“Matthews residents are being asked to foot the bill without any true rail to Matthews,” Commissioner Ken McCool said at an August meeting. “We’ve been consistently lied to that Matthews is getting what is equal and equitable as everyone else. That’s a lie.”
The Charlotte Area Transit System laid out four scenarios in January for what could be affordable under the funding breakdown.
The first option calls for the Silver Line — originally plotted to run from Belmont to Matthews — to be built as light rail from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to Bojangles Coliseum in east Charlotte, with the option to extend it in both directions in the future. The other options convert all or some of the Silver Line to bus rapid transit — with buses in dedicated lanes that have traffic signal priority, elevated platforms and enhanced stations.
Higdon opposes bus rapid transit as an option. He says it won’t generate the same economic development as light rail and questions whether CATS can develop a high-quality system.
“I just don’t have any faith that a gold-rated bus rapid transit system could be built here,” he previously told the Observer.
How much would sales tax increase cost Matthews residents?
Matthews leaders at a Monday meeting broke down how much the potential sales tax increase would cost their residents.
The town’s median household would pay 13.7% more in sales tax under a 1-cent increase, Commissioner Mark Tofano said during a presentation on the town’s taxes and fees at the commission meeting.
The presentation estimated the median household, with an annual income of $105,579, would go from a yearly sales tax cost of $2,051 to $2,334.
Will Matthews’ opposition hurt transit bill?
The town also hired a Raleigh-based lobbyist in January to advocate against the transit plan, WFAE reported.
But Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger told reporters at a Charlotte event Monday he didn’t recall having any conversations with Matthews leaders about their concerns.
“We understand that there have been a lot of compromises in bringing this together, and my understanding is that there are still conversations ongoing,” he said.
State House Speaker Destin Hall noted at the same press conference state Rep. Tricia Cotham, whose district includes parts of Matthews, is expected to play a pivotal role in driving the legislation in the House.
“Tricia has a voice that carries great weight in our caucus, and I imagine that her opinion on this bill is going to carry a lot of weight with members of our caucus,” he said.
Developer Ned Curran, an advocate for the legislation, told reporters Monday “Matthews is treated just like every other town.” He noted the town will get an estimated $5 million in annual funding for road projects and that the bill doesn’t determine the final fate of the Silver Line.
“I think that we’re going to make the case to the good people of Matthews, what this could mean to them and what options they have,” he said.
