There's no quit in KRM
Nov. 20, 2007
Alternative funding sources sought for commuter rail project
EMILY AYSHFORD

© Kenosha News

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It's time to take a step back and look at the options.

That was the consensus of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority, which met in Milwaukee on Monday for the first time in months.

The authority, charged with finding a funding source for commuter rail and public transit, needed to pause after its proposition to levy a $13 increase to the $2 rental car fee charged in Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties to fund the line didn't make it into the latest state budget.

But board members said continued support from the community has shown the authority should still find a way to fund the rail.

RTA Chairman Karl Ostby said transportation has and will play a key role in economic decisions in the area. For example, Miller and Coors recently announced they were merging, but officials still haven't decided whether the Miller headquarters will relocate to Colorado. And Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics has been hampered by transportation woes. Patrick Ryan, who heads the Olympic bid committee, recently told the Greater Milwaukee Committee transportation must be addressed if the city wants to secure the games.

"I continue to be encouraged by the amount of progress we've made and business support that has been demonstrated for creation of KRM and a solution to the public transit funding issue," Ostby said in a formal statement. "...we remain steadfast in our goal of addressing these transit issues."

One option the authority will consider is to support legislation pushed by the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities. Such legislation would allow local governments to unite and form regional transit authorities funded by local sales tax.

Other options include supporting separate legislation or putting a budget request in the 2009-11 biennial budget.

Also at the meeting, the authority agreed to broaden its focus to a total transit solution that would include local public transit.

After the authority agreed to pursue the $15 rental car fee in late 2006, Milwaukee officials said they would not support the fee increase unless the authority came up with a plan to fund transit there.

In September, officials from Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee met and agreed it was a good idea to unify those cities and counties under one transit system governed by a regional transit authority.

The idea, officials say, is to create an interchangeable transit system that would tie into the proposed rail line.

Officials still haven't decided how such a system would be funded; local officials have said they would support using sales tax, but others are against the idea.

Though nothing official was decided Monday, the authority will reconvene in December to recommend the next steps for legislative proposals and to consider whether to put a hold on its federal funding application, since it's incomplete without a local funding source in place.