MATTHEWS, N.C. — On Monday, Matthews town leaders voted against a new sales tax proposal to fund new regional transportation.
"While intended to improve regional transit, this plan fails to provide fair benefits to all communities," Matthews Town Commissioner Ken McCool wrote on social media this weekend.
Matthews officials had been optimistic that a long-discussed Silver Line train would run through east Charlotte and to Matthews. However, in May, town officials learned the plan was being cut back. The future train line would only be built between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Uptown Charlotte. A bus rapid transit line would be implemented from Charlotte to Matthews instead.
"This been decades of planning and have anticipated this line when it came to building businesses and where they would go," Matthews Mayor John Higdon told WCNC Charlotte in May.
At Monday's meeting, WCNC Charlotte's Julie Kay spoke to Mayor Higdon.
“It’s like South End in Charlotte," Higson said. "Lots of action, very vibrant. You don’t get that from a bus station. And so we’d be missing out on decades of tax growth, tax revenue if we just went with buses.”
The change means an economic loss for small businesses that will miss out on revenue from travelers, he believes.
"You wouldn't see it now, but when it would have been finished, you would notice," Higdon said.
During their regularly scheduled board of commissioners meeting Monday night at 7 p.m., town officials and residents expressed their formal complaints against the funding plan.
Last Friday, regional government partners announced they had "successfully concluded meetings leading to the preparation of draft legislation enabling a countywide referendum on a one-percent local sales tax to fund" countywide transportation projects and create a regional transit authority to oversee the spending. While the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and six towns within Mecklenburg County backed the plan, the town of Matthews was noticeably absent from the joint announcement.
"East Charlotte and Matthews are being asked to settle for an untested Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system instead of the rail service promised to other areas," McCool wrote. "This unequal distribution isn't fair and undermines the idea of a unified regional solution."
Towns in support of the plan include Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville. Those towns would directly benefit from the creation of a different rail line, the Red Line. The city of Charlotte has filed paperwork with the federal government indicating intent to purchase a section of Norfolk Southern Railway tracks that would become the city's Red Line commuter rail service.
The change to the Silver Line proposals came after Norfolk Southern said they would engage in discussions about selling the tracks needed for the Red Line.
Some see the prioritization of the Red Line at the cost of the Silver Line as a sleight of hand.
"The decision to downgrade the Silver Line East to BRT was made without proper notice or community input, which is unacceptable for a decision that will impact our region for generations," McCool wrote. "It's disappointing to see other communities quickly sign off on this plan without considering the broader impact."
Each town and city in support of the sales tax referendum is being asked to pass resolutions publicly supporting the plan. Organizers hope such resolutions would support the advancement of the referendum through the North Carolina General Assembly.
Matthews voted formally to oppose the plan Monday.
Matthews is already served by an existing Charlotte Area Transit System express bus. CATS 64x, the Independence Blvd. Express, will soon be allowed to use bus lanes in the middle of Independence Boulevard. These lanes, not used in years, will help commuters bypass traffic. They are being reopened using funding separate from the proposed sales tax referendum.