05-13-2016, 11:05 AM
In funding news, how quickly things can change...
In 2014, the Townships were told that they would not be paying for the LRT despite the benefits of protecting farmland in the townships. Three out of the four Township Mayors voted in favour of the project. North Dumfries Mayor Rob Deutchmann abstained due to a conflict.
Now, barely two years later, and after some tweaks to provincial funding rules, the townships could end up paying for the LRT and transit anyway.
While I support the removal of area-rated transit levies which I hope will streamline improved transit service across the Region, I wonder if the Township Mayors would have voted differently in 2014 if they had to tell their constituents that they were going to be paying for the LRT (and other transit too)? The vote would likely have still passed, but by a much narrower margin of 8-7.
In 2014, the Townships were told that they would not be paying for the LRT despite the benefits of protecting farmland in the townships. Three out of the four Township Mayors voted in favour of the project. North Dumfries Mayor Rob Deutchmann abstained due to a conflict.
Now, barely two years later, and after some tweaks to provincial funding rules, the townships could end up paying for the LRT and transit anyway.
While I support the removal of area-rated transit levies which I hope will streamline improved transit service across the Region, I wonder if the Township Mayors would have voted differently in 2014 if they had to tell their constituents that they were going to be paying for the LRT (and other transit too)? The vote would likely have still passed, but by a much narrower margin of 8-7.