At a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Auburn Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, held in the Council Chambers at 1827 N. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326, at 7:00p.m. on the 26th day of September, 2022, the following resolution was offered by Councilperson Verbeke and supported by Councilperson Knight:
WHEREAS,
the City of Auburn Hills, without the ability to opt-out, will be a party to the proposed Oakland County transit plan; and
WHEREAS,
should it be approved by voters in November 2022, all Auburn Hills taxpayers, both residents and businesses, will be required to pay a new .95 mill county tax for ten years; and
WHEREAS,
this plan will collect nearly $2 million in annual taxes from Auburn Hills residents and businesses; and
WHEREAS,
City leadership recently studied regional public transit under the SMART system and found ridership in Auburn Hills very low, with empty buses passing through our City throughout the day and night, and major employers seeing little to no use of the system; and
WHEREAS,
countywide, this new tax is expected to generate a total of $66 million annually from every Oakland County community, and County leaders have indicated that no comprehensive plan exists detailing the services to be provided, which provides no service to many north and west Oakland County communities; and
WHEREAS,
of that $66 million, the county plans to allocate the funds to various entities which include the current SMART bus system, as well as "special" allocations totaling $5 million to certain communities for their individual transit needs; and
WHEREAS,
Auburn Hills leaders support a community-based transit system matched to the specific needs of its taxpaying residents instead of an ineffective regional system that is far more costly and doesn't meet the demands of our community.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council of the City of Auburn Hills adopts this resolution to share facts regarding the County's proposed .95 mill tax for regional transportation and requests that County leaders thoughtfully and responsibly prepare a plan in collaboration with ALL Oakland County communities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Clerk shall forward a copy of this Resolution to the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Oakland County Executive, State Representative, and State Senator.
Original source can be found here.
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