SMART bus Millage for Oakland County Residents.

**Danny** · July-28-12, 11:04 AM

Allright Oakland County residents. It's your turn to vote for the SMART Bus Millage on August 7th. This millage is to accept .59 mills per household with a taxable income of $100,000. [[for example if you own a home that is worth 100,000 you will have to pay only $59.00 a year.) If you all vote no, SMART busses will not come your county no more!

SO VOTE YES ON THE 2012 SMART BUS MILLAGE!

What do you all think about SMART busses running your cities? Is public transit is doing well from tax monies worth or is being lousy.

Your comments please.

**Wesley Mouch** · July-28-12, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

Allright Oakland County residents. It's your turn to vote for the SMART Bus Millage on August 7th. This millage is to accept .59 mills per household with a taxable income of $100,000. [[for example if you own a home that is worth 100,000 you will have to pay only $59.00 a year.) If you all vote no, SMART busses will not come your county no more!

SO VOTE YES ON THE 2012 SMART BUS MILLAGE!

What do you all think about SMART busses running your cities? Is public transit is doing well from tax monies worth or is being lousy.

Your comments please.

Danny -- is this a renewal or a new millage? What's the total millage currently for SMART in Oakland County.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-28-12, 10:13 PM

It is a renewal. Not every community in Oakland will have it on the ballot. http://www.smartbus.org/newsinfo/pre...t-7,-2012.aspx

**professorscott** · July-29-12, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Danny -- is this a renewal or a new millage? What's the total millage currently for SMART in Oakland County.

It's precisely a renewal, same millage the opt-in communities are paying now. The vote does not allow for any changes in local option; that is, if your community is now opt-in, it will still be opt-in after the countywide vote, and same for opt-out.

So it doesn't solve the opt-out problem; that would be a politically risky thing to do in an election year [[think the pundits). But it will preserve the existing level of service, so I agree that a YES vote is important. Too many people in Oakland County need the service and a NO result would leave them entirely high and dry.

You may not take the bus yourself, but you have a friend or a neighbor or an elderly relative or young relative or disabled friend or relative who does, or a friend of a friend.

Just, of course, IMVHO.

Cheers,
Prof. Scott

**Det_ard** · July-29-12, 11:09 AM

I'm in an opt-in community but the closest bus route is 5 miles away. Might as well be in an opt-out community. If I'm going to have to drive 5 miles to catch a bus I'll just continue on to my destination.

**professorscott** · July-29-12, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Det_ard

I'm in an opt-in community but the closest bus route is 5 miles away. Might as well be in an opt-out community. If I'm going to have to drive 5 miles to catch a bus I'll just continue on to my destination.

That's somewhat unusual and I can get in touch with the people at SMART to see how that might be fixed. Do you mind telling me what is the major intersection closest to where you live?

**Det_ard** · July-29-12, 01:03 PM

PM sent. Thanks.

**rex** · July-29-12, 01:54 PM

I thought Smart just got a bunch of fed money.

**antongast** · July-29-12, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by rex

I thought Smart just got a bunch of fed money.

Capital and operations money are two different things. SMART's millages cover operations, which the federal government generally doesn't subsidize.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-29-12, 09:32 PM

Remember that SMART has had to cut back service. It is entirely possible to be in an opt-in but be miles from linehaul service. The revenue coming in from the millage has shrunk quite a bit over the last several years. This impacts operating, and no one wants to raise taxes so they cut lines. It gets worse. Transit gets a little under ten percent of the revenues brought in from the gas tax. Since cars are getting better mileage and people are being more careful about how and how often they drive, the tax has decreased.

This leads to more communities wanting to opt out as service is decreased and the community wants to try to shore up holes in its own budget.

**sturge** · July-31-12, 09:50 AM

I commute from Farmington to Detroit every workday. I love it.

**cramerro** · July-31-12, 10:12 AM

I am a strong SMART supporter - so my $0.02 is that the .59 mills is very low when compared to other transit taxes, and provides a lot of service. For example, the City of Ann Arbor has a 2.0 Mill tax to operate "The Ride." To give them credit, the quality of their system is noticeably higher especailly in technology and stop/station amenities... but as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for." This relatively small millage is critical to maintaining a decent level of service in opt-in communities.

I was also rather disgusted yesterday when I read that the Wayne County Jail Millage, which is up for renewal, is for .98 mills... yet another example of spending more on criminals than law-abiding citizens!

**Det_ard** · July-31-12, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Remember that SMART has had to cut back service. It is entirely possible to be in an opt-in but be miles from linehaul service. The revenue coming in from the millage has shrunk quite a bit over the last several years. This impacts operating, and no one wants to raise taxes so they cut lines. It gets worse. Transit gets a little under ten percent of the revenues brought in from the gas tax. Since cars are getting better mileage and people are being more careful about how and how often they drive, the tax has decreased.

This leads to more communities wanting to opt out as service is decreased and the community wants to try to shore up holes in its own budget.

Not taking away anything from what you wrote, which I agree with, but in my case in the last 10 years I've been 5 miles from one line and 6 miles from the other. No reduction in service that I'm aware of. Just a barebones route network.

IMO either we go big or go basic. I could support either one. Right now it's basic, which I pay for but can't use in any practical sense. I'd be willing to pay real money for a real transit system, with light rail extending out to the fringe and bus routes crisscrossing the metro within a mile of 95% of the population.

What I don't want to pay for is something in between that doesn't service 90% of the area but doubles or triples cost. Go big or go home.