Tayer: Defend Transit Funding: Support the RTD’s TABOR Override Measure

For six years from 2007 to early 2013 I served on the Regional Transportation District’s board of directors. 

There, I said it, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I’m part of the problem. Rest assured, though, that during my RTD Board service, I had plenty of tussles with our regional transit agency – like an epic battle to save the EcoPass program – in an effort to meet local service demands. And now I lead an organization that houses Boulder’s transportation management organization Transportation Connections, which serves as a strong regional business voice for continuous improvement in RTD operations. 

Yet, despite the criticisms and periodic clashes, I stand now in defense of RTD funding and ask for your vote in favor of their TABOR override initiative, Ballot Measure 7A.

First, let’s confront the elephant in the room: In 2004, RTD promised rail service to Boulder and Longmont as part of the FasTracks plan and it hasn’t arrived. When I ran for the RTD Board, I had visions of christening commuter trains with champagne bottles as they launched their maiden voyages from Boulder Junction. Twenty years later, the vision lives on, but implementation funding remains elusive.

There is new hope on the horizon for our rail service in the combination of RTD FasTracks dollars with potential state and federal funding sources. Yet, in an allusion to “Waiting for Godot,” we need to move forward. While we push on every financing lever to secure the promised train, the current practical reality leaves us with continued reliance on other transit mode options to meet our local and regional mobility goals. 

Fortunately, there is positive progress to report on other transit service avenues. First, through the Boulder Chamber’s advocacy in partnership with city of Boulder and Boulder County transportation leaders, we’ve helped secure millions in federal support for restructuring the Diagonal Highway. The corridor investments will provide improved safety for all transportation modes and reduce traffic congestion, along with much more efficient transit service between Longmont and Boulder. 

At the same time, the Boulder Chamber has championed a new on-demand shuttle service for the Gunbarrel area that is slated to begin operations in 2025. Directly connecting with the regional BOLT bus service that traverses the Diagonal Highway, this shuttle will provide first- and final-mile access to Gunbarrel businesses and residences. It’s an enormous leap forward in commuter convenience and in RTD’s responsiveness to a locally designed transit option.

Over the past few years, RTD also responded to our call for more affordable service by lowering fares across the board. Most significantly, they permanently adopted the Zero Fare for Youth policy, making transit service free for everyone ages 19 and younger. Not only is Zero Fare for Youth creating a new generation of transit riders, it also frees parents from chauffeuring students in their own cars, which significantly reduces roadway congestion during peak travel times. 

Why am I telling you about these strides in RTD service? Because it’s all threatened by the specter of a provision in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights that places an arbitrary growth cap on revenue from voter-supported taxes. The revenue growth cap is based on uncontrollable economic factors unassociated with transit service demand, yet any funds RTD collects over the cap must be reimbursed. 

RTD is projected to reach its TABOR revenue cap in the coming years, forcing the agency to refund upwards of about $60 million annually, or the equivalent of about $25 per taxpayer. Given RTD’s already strapped financial condition, we can expect that the types of fare reductions and innovative services I mention above will be the target of RTD’s efforts to absorb the TABOR-induced refunds. This is aside from the likely necessity of cuts in critical mobility services for those with no other work commute options.  

Fortunately, voters have the chance this election to preserve the transit funding you’ve already approved. Ballot Measure 7A exempts RTD from the TABOR funding cap. Such TABOR override measures have become common practice for local government entities, as it’s just good governance to accept voter approved funding, without unassociated revenue constraints. Plus, we want and need the transit services RTD’s full taxing authority provides.

So, while we can all paint the vision of improved RTD service, it will be for naught if TABOR’s revenue cap forces RTD to cut its budget. Let’s defend our local and regional transit funding and vote “Yes” on Ballot Measure 7A! 

John Tayer is president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at 303-442-1044, ext 110 or john.tayer@boulderchamber.com.

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