Milwaukie Mystery Train pushers never give up
It's insane the lengths to which the county commissioners in Clackamas County will go to bring the soul-killing, bankrupting, billion-dollar-plus Tri-Met MAX train to Milwaukie (pop. 21,000). Now that they can't create or expand any "urban renewal" district to pay their $25 million share toward the thing without a countywide public vote (which they'd probably lose), the commissioners are apparently just going to promise to pay out of property taxes, straight up, without the "urban renewal" ploy. They say they want to issue "full faith and credit" bonds, which means the county would have to pay from any available source. Translation: property taxes.
They're dressing up the p.r. on this by pointing out that the Clackamas Town Center "urban renewal" district is supposed to expire in 2013, and that will free up some property taxes that can be used to pay for the train bonds. Sounds nice, but it doesn't change the fact that those are taxes that can and should be spent on public safety and other essential county services.
Whatever the commissioners do to try to raise the money for MAX, they can bet there'll be a group trying to force a public referendum on it. It's pretty obvious that voters down that way have had enough Blumenauering, and they seem to be wising up so much that none of the commissioners' many maneuvers are working.
What they really need, of course, is a new set of commissioners.
They're dressing up the p.r. on this by pointing out that the Clackamas Town Center "urban renewal" district is supposed to expire in 2013, and that will free up some property taxes that can be used to pay for the train bonds. Sounds nice, but it doesn't change the fact that those are taxes that can and should be spent on public safety and other essential county services.
Whatever the commissioners do to try to raise the money for MAX, they can bet there'll be a group trying to force a public referendum on it. It's pretty obvious that voters down that way have had enough Blumenauering, and they seem to be wising up so much that none of the commissioners' many maneuvers are working.
What they really need, of course, is a new set of commissioners.
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