OP-ED: We Must Encourage AAATA to Take a Hard Look at Their—At Our—Financial Bottom Line

By Jeffrey Hayner

I’m an Ann Arbor resident and  I want to speak about the upcoming May 6th special election that’s been called to request a 34 percent increase in our transit millage.  I’ve paid 2 mills for transit since I’ve lived in Ann Arbor, for over 30 years. You, too, have supported transit directly through your property taxes, or indirectly through your rent—and will continue to do so for as long as you live in Ann Arbor.

I have been speaking to a lot of people about this election, and many have told me they believe a no vote is the right thing to do; but that they feel bad Voting No, and are hesitant to speak with others about it. But there are many legitimate reasons to Vote No May 6th.  I encourage you to share these reasons with others, and help facilitate a long-overdue discussion on the role of transit in our city.

This millage has been cast, using a costly, professional Public Relations effort, as a referendum on one’s support for public transit  and one’s character – an attempt, in my opinion, to shame people into voting yes, or not voting at all.

The Transit Lobby is counting on you staying home—that’s why $100,000 of public money was spent to hold a special May 6th election. A May election is used to slip things past the voters.  That’s not right. Enough time to allow proper discussion is warranted.  The Transit Lobby wants you to only have time to consider one carefully crafted side of the story.  That’s why they’ve spent untold hundreds of thousands of public dollars more promoting themselves using inter-connected advocacy and special interest groups, who stand to profit if this millage passes.

There are many good reasons to summon the courage to Vote No.  And it’s important to remember—No services will be lost if this millage increase doesn’t pass.

• You Can Vote No and you will continue to support transit.
•  You Can Vote No if you think that 40 years of transit investment at current levels has worked well enough to bring us a decent, usable system, and you believe that continuous improvements—steady and cost-effective improvements – are the best way to grow a system for the long run.

I support the senior free ride program, but it’s OK to Vote No if you think that riders should have fare equity— why should downtown employees ride for $10 per year using the getDowntown program, while others pay full fare? A No Vote will encourage AAATA to look for other sources of revenue.

I suggest they start by looking to the users of the system for a modest fare increase.  Even a $0.25 per-ride increase would generate an additional $1.7 million dollars each year—which grows to over $4 million dollars when matched by qualifying service grants. That would certainly pay for the modest amount of service hours, and increased peak services that riders have long been asking for.

AAATA leadership to earn the public’s trust, and look for ways to increase efficiencies.  There are 133 employees that drive buses, and 89 employees that don’t.  There are material errors in the AAATA’s audited financial statements. Millions that should have gone toward service improvements was instead squandered on rail studies, regional expansion efforts, marketing, and selective economic development.

A No Vote is a vote for prudent use of public funds.

If you don’t want your rent and your cost of living to increase, You Can Vote No.

If you are a person of modest means, a No Vote will keep more money in your pocket, where you can decide how to best spend or save it.  If you are on a fixed income, and don’t know how you will pay the increased taxes, you should Vote No.

You Can Vote No and still believe that public transit is good for the community, akin to critical services like road repair, but if this millage passes, we will be paying more for buses than for the poorly-maintained roads the buses ride on via the Street Repair millage.

A No Vote will keep our tax priorities in order.

You Can Vote No if you believe that the demand for increased services is exaggerated, as unbiased reports suggest. You Can Vote No if you disapprove of downtown-centric route design, or find the transit system difficult to use.

You Can Vote No if you don’t think it’s appropriate that CEO Michael Ford gets an $800/month automobile stipend. If you feel your taxes are high enough already, you can Vote No.

A No Vote will encourage the AAATA to take a hard look at their—at our—bottom line. Each ride costs $4.75 to provide.  A full fare, which few riders pay, is only $1.50. Therefore, each ride results in a loss to the taxpayers of $3.25: Over $20 million dollars a year! This is an unsustainable model for a transit system. We should not be asked to increase this subsidy.

You Can Vote No for any number of reasons – and I encourage you to do so.  Ask your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to consider Voting No this May 6th. You might be surprised how many of them already plan to.

Your vote is private. But if you feel that No is the right vote May 6th, consider sharing your feelings with others.  It’s that important. Use your voice and your vote.

Jeffrey Hayner has lived in Ann Arbor for 30 years. In 2013 he ran for City Council from Ward 1 as an independent candidate.