Waiting for the funding to back up a transit plan can be brutal—especially when the calendar says February you thought you approved a transit-funding tax in the November election.
Voters and advocates in Indianapolis are learning that their vote to approve Question 2, a referendum to approve a transit-funding income tax, had a catch: it didn't actually approve a new law.
Despite earning 59.26 percent of the vote, writes Amber Stearns, "the ballot question in November was simply a way to gauge public support — to see if people would see a value in supporting mass transit in the form of a small income tax."
Now the task of passing the transit tax into law is up to the Indianapolis City Council, "and among the 25 city-county councilors there are a lot of mixed feelings about this proposal," reports Stearns.
At risk is a constant stream of revenue for IndyGo, and a transit plan that "includes a re-work of bus routes and frequency, a streamlined 7-day schedule for greater reliability and three rapid transit lines," writes Stearns. Planetizen Correspondent Irvin Dawid reported in detail on the unique structure of the income tax, and the political support that earned Question 2's approval, in an article from November.
The article by Stearns also offers an in-depth exploration of the politics at play as the tax heads to an expected vote in the City Council on February 27.
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The Architects Foundation
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Journal of the American Planning Association