Voters may not have a chance to approve or disapprove of the RTA's Regional Transit Mast Plan. The Regional Transit Authority's board members were unable to agree to the plan at a meeting this afternoon.
Board chairman, Paul Hillegonds, said at the end of the meeting there's just week left to get this approved in time to make it on the ballot in November.
Oakland and Macomb county representatives rejected the plan which would have gone before voters this fall.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans has released the following statement about the rejection of the plan:
Our citizens deserve the opportunity to vote on the Regional Transit Authority millage in November. Approval by the RTA Board of the RTA’s master plan is a step in the right direction toward our shared vision for a world-class regional transit system. The improved system proposed by the RTA will build upon the progress that Detroit and Wayne County have made in the past few years, progress that is strengthening our region as a whole. With this plan everybody wins. While individual concerns must be addressed, we cannot afford to once again delay development of true regional transit. It is too important to workers, students, and families throughout southeast Michigan. Failure to place this millage on the ballot in November could impede the progress we have made in the region. I’m committed to working to address the concerns of our regional partners to bring them on board.
Yesterday, long list of prominent southeast Michigan business and civic leaders added their names to a letter urging Oakland County and Macomb County to drop their opposition to the RTA's regional transit plans.
The letter was addressed to Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
"We are asking you to work through any open issues in the days ahead to ensure that the people of this region have the opportunity to vote on the regional transit plan," the letter said.
At today's Regional Transit Authority meeting, members of the public were not pleased by the votes of Macomb and Oakland County representatives.
