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The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the 20 year regional transportation plan being paid for by a 1/2 cent sales tax. It was adopted in 2006 and at the time was estimated to generate $2.1B in its 20 year life span. Due to the recession and inflationary cost escalation, RTA revenues have suffered. There are nearly $200M in City of Tucson projects left under or unfunded.
For the past 4 years Tucson's Mayor and City Council have been raising issues related to proper representation on the RTA and assurances that all of our projects will be fully funded by the RTA. City taxpayers make up more than 1/2 the population and tax base that supports the RTA.
At today's RTA Board meeting concrete votes were taken that address some of our concerns. Representation on RTA subcommittees that are integral to project delivery will be increased to more closely reflect the city's population - both in terms of size and demographics. And the board voted to assure all projects that may be unfinished when the current RTA goes back to the voters will be 'at the front of the line' in RTA Next, and will be fully funded.
I'm grateful to the members of the RTA Board who took the time to look for solutions to our concerns. And I'm grateful to Mayor Romero for steadfastly delivering the message she and the city council had been delivering. That is, without substantive changes we have no reason to continue asking our taxpayers to support a regional coalition that was disenfranchising city residents. Today's votes were a significant step in a positive direction.
There is still work to do on changes in RTA governance and leadership. And the mayor and city council still have decisions to make related to how we fund residential road repair. But today's action at the RTA was an important recognition of the City of Tucson's standing regionally and the importance our regional partners place on our continued participation in RTA Next.
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