It is a tough call the Regional Transportation District’s Board of Directors faces – they have to choose between one of three tax raising options to bailout the FasTracks boondoggle.  As a taxpayer who will foot the bill I am reminded of one of my favorite military acronyms – BOHICA.  No matter which option is chosen to put before the voters, taxpayers will be asked to take it in the shorts once again.

FasTracks has become a total laughing stock since voters approved the ill-conceived and poorly managed project seven years ago.  The list of issues goes on and on and on and just never seems to end. 

What was supposed to cost taxpayers $4.7 billion now is estimated to cost an additional $2 billion (with a B!).  That is if and only if taxpayers are dumb enough to give RTD more money and the federal government gives their own bailout of the project.  Further the project will not be completed within the timeframe promised nor with anywhere near the service levels RTD said the rail lines would provide.

Last week RTD planners (the same ones who have blown cost estimates time after time) presented the three tax raising options to the RTD board.  In a nutshell the three options to ask voters for are:

1. A 0.4 percent tax increase which is a doubling of the existing tax.  This would allow RTD to be done building their pretty trains by 2019 (with the north metro corridor waiting the longest of course).
2. A 0.2 percent tax increase would still allow complete the project but it would take until 2027 (the north area still is at the back of the line).
3. A 0.1 percent tax increase which would draw the project out to 2035 (and yes the north area is still last).

Now, it is important to note that the train-loving media and RTD will tell you all of these options will allow the “full program” to be built.  This is a complete fallacy.  RTD has already made extensive cuts to what they promised the voters before and that will not change. 

The definition of “full program” is constantly changing and getting smaller – including significant cuts to service to the north metro area.  The reality is that no amount of tax money given to RTD will give us what they promised in 2004.

It should also be mentioned that under scenario 2 and 3 RTD is planning on marketing this as a so-called “extension” of the Metropolitan Football Stadium District tax that expires at the end of the year.  I have railed before against this deceitful practice of governments and quasi-governmental entities using these untruthful marketing practices. 

It is NOT an extension.  The stadium tax ends at the end of the year.  Period.  Anything else is a NEW tax.

For the north metro area, all of the options continue to keep us at the back of the line.  RTD does throw us a bone however – they will start building the north metro line immediately and take it as far as the National Western Complex.  Whoop-dee-flippin’-do! 

We will realize our dream of driving our cars to the Stock Show and taking a train into downtown (as if anyone would actually do that).  Disregard the fact you could drive that distance faster and cheaper than taking the overpriced TaxTracks train.  Give me a break.

The federal funding fallacy

Then we come to RTD’s pipe dream that Uncle Sam is going to come to our rescue and bail out the boondoggle.  They believe they will win a $1 billion grant from the Federal Transit Administration for the Arvada / Wheat Ridge line.  Further, RTD planners told the board that TaxTracks is a good candidate to receive additional funding if option 2 or 3 is chosen. 

Hmmmm.  Has anyone checked Uncle Sam’s pockets for extra money?  There is none!  Just in the last week the national debt jumped over $14 trillion (with a T!). 

With some in Washington DC finally showing some fiscal restraint, the purse strings are starting to be tightened and until that money is in the bank it is a fantasy.  RTD’s attempt to use that as a selling point for taxpayers is yet another example of their continuing deception. 

It is worth noting that just yesterday the Republican Study Committee released a list of proposed budget cuts to the tune of $2.5 trillion.  One of those was Amtrak and the cut would save $1.565 billion in savings per year. 

Yes, dear reader, that’s right – We the taxpayer fund Amtrak, a rail program that loses money hand over fist and in fact has never come close to operating on its own accord, let alone turning a profit.  If the federal government is not going to fund Uncle Sam rail, why would they fund Denver’s? 

The other nasty truth is that there is NOT ONE quasi-governmental run rail system in the nation that runs without heavy taxpayer subsidies.  You don’t have to look far for a prime example – do some research on New Mexico’s Rail Runner. 

For Denver residents this means that if we are dumb enough to continue FasTracks, the taxes will not end – EVER. FasTracks will always need our money just to operate. Think about that and BOHICA.

Related: RTD’s FasTracks – Timeline of a history of problems

On the net:

• Longmont Times-Call - Assurances on FasTracks are not reassuring
• Denver Daily News – FasTracks funding options: Three proposals heard, but critic says don’t ‘reward RTD for selling a false bill of goods’
• Denver Post – RTD board hears three tax options to complete FasTracks

3 Responses to “RTD to decide how far to ask taxpayers to bend over for FasTracks boondoggle”