Courtesy of Unsplash
Courtesy of Unsplash
In March, voters in Kalamazoo will have the opportunity to vote for a tax increase to shore up the area's local public transit.
According to MLive, the Tuesday, March 10, presidential primary election will ask voters to approve a five-year 0.9-mill millage tax to aid the funding of public transit. This tax increase would replace the 0.75-mill tax from 2015, which is set to expire this year.
The actual cost would be roughly $45 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.
The area's public transportation system is currently made up of four areas of funding: voter-approved millages, which comprise 36 percent; federal grants; state grants; and transit fares.
Voters are being asked to consider the tax increase, given that the state reimbursement rates are continuing to decrease and operations costs are continuing to increase. Most recently, state reimbursement, previously 34 percent, has decreased to under 31 percent.
The public transit system provided more than 2.8 million rides in 2019.
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