This article is about Metro’s budget for the next year and its proposal to add a nickel to the bus and rail fares. What really interests me is this bit:
Metro receives a 1-cent sales tax, but must set aside 25 percent of the revenue to pay for transportation-related projects in the contributing taxing jurisdictions of Houston, Harris County and other small cities the authority’s service area.
I think it is well past time to review that old agreement and see about giving Metro more of that revenue. I’ll defer to Christof for the details on this, but my understanding is that a lot of the small municipalities that receive some of this money literally have nothing useful to spend it on any more. By far, the greatest need exists with Metro, and the greatest benefit will come from upping its revenues; among other things, it might then make sense to think about rolling back fare increases. I for one would love to see Houston’s next Mayor start talking about this, as he or she will be in the best position to make this happen. Peter? Gene? Annise? What do you say?