Apr 22 2008
Myrtle Beach Could Increase Taxes to Support Transit
The Myrtle Beach City Council this morning talked about the possibility of increasing the city’s millage rate to help support Coast Regional Transportation Authority, as well as to pay for increasing service needs within the city.
The city’s budget proposal has not called for an increase to date, but City Manager Tom Leath last week sent an e-mail to councilmembers suggesting a 3-mill hike.
Or, you can not raise taxes at all and let the public who are riding the transit actually pay for it. Now that’s a novel idea.
I wouldn’t be so quick to say that. I seem to remember you saying you ride the light rail line. If it weren’t for those massive subsidies a-la me and the rest of us that don’t ride them you’d be pay about 8 times your one way fare each day…
It’s why there is no light rail system in the country that operates in the black just on fares alone…
I am not opposed to only the riders of the light rail paying for it. I would just take what ever option is less expensive at that point. If that means driving all the way into uptown again, such is life. I adapt to change well.
Well so do most people. That’s why they subsidize the light rail so heavily. If you did actually have to pay the actual cost you’d just as quickly drive versus take it. That’s what I’ve been saying since they layed the first piece of track. They can tout whatever ridership numbers they want but they could have packed trains running 24/7/365 and they will still have a shortfall in the budget.
Using this as the template, it’s easy to see that the entire light rail project has absolutely nothing to do with congestion or pollution or anything else. It has to do with fawning over developers and increasing tax bases in the smallest possible area to prevent having to provide actual, factual services.