RTA millage rejected by metro Detroit voters

The Regional Transit Authority millage appears to have been defeated, with unofficial vote tallies for all but one precinct in the four-county area where it was proposed.

The tax appears to have failed by about 18,000 votes.

Voters in Wayne and Washtenaw counties supported the tax, approving it 359,244 to 322,447, and 93,994 to 73,270, respectively. It fell short, by 1,109 votes in Oakland county, where the tally was 293,510 against and 292,401 in support. But, the opposition was greatest in Macomb county, with a vote of 222,806 no to 148,159 yes.

One precinct in Wayne County with 1,093 registered voters had not reported returns, but it did not appear to be enough to tip the balance, even if every voter in the precinct supported it.

The RTA will not be able to try again for a millage for another two years.

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Supporters argued that the region needs a connected public transportation system to compete with other metropolitan areas, most of which spend significantly more per capita on transit than southeast Michigan does, and to help those who do not own a vehicle or are unable to drive get to work, education, health care or recreation.

Opponents argued it was a massive tax hike for services residents already supported through fees and other taxes and that it would anchor the region to an outdated transportation network.

The heart of the RTA master plan was bus rapid transit, with lines on Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan and Washtenaw avenues. BRT, with its limited stops, fixed stations and buses running often in dedicated lines, designed to provide a faster trip and give a sense of permanence approaching that of light rail. But the master plan also added expanded local bus service, premium express service to Detroit Metro Airport from the various counties, commuter express routes as well as more paratransit and on-demand options and commuter rail connecting Detroit and Ann Arbor.

The plan was designed to address the kinds of structural problems inherent in the story of marathon commuter James Robertson, Detroit's walking man. The plan would not merge the Detroit Department of Transportation and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, but it would prevent communities from opting out as many do with SMART.

The measure was projected to cost the owner of a home with a taxable vale of $78,856 — the average in southeast Michigan, according to the RTA — about $95 per year. For homes with a taxable value of $100,000 (market value of $200,000), the cost would be about $120 per year. The millage was expected to raise $3 billion and allow the region to tap into $1.7 billion in state and federal funds. The millage would not replace the region's other transit millages, but would be a new tax for residents in all four counties served by SMART, DDOT and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.