The Trump Era has pierced Chapel Hill’s bubble. 
Last week five of the seven Orange County Commissioners voted for taxpayers to take responsibility for 18% of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit costs not covered by federal and state governments, plus 18.5% of the debt service, on top of 20% of the regular maintenance costs of the 17.7-mile train service.
The media reported Orange County’s share as 16.5% with private investors kicking in 2% in cash and land donation, but if the investors fall short, Orange County picks up 1.5% and Durham covers the remaining 0.5%.
One of the commissioners who voted for DOLRT shrugged off constituents’ concerns about the staggering debt with: “It will work itself out.”
Where have we heard that before? Ah, yes: “We’re gonna build a wall — huge wall — the biggest wall, ever. And Mexico’s gonna pay for it.”
But wait, there’s more.
The agreement the five commissioners approved has a clause that prevents the county from backing out of the project at any time down the road. The Federal Transit Administration requires unwavering commitment that local governments will follow through on their end before the feds will commit any money to go forward. The feds would consider a maximum contribution of 50% of the $2.4 billion construction cost only. The feds won’t pay any of the cost of borrowing — the debt service that brings the price tag to $3.3 billion is the responsibility of local taxpayers.
The Trump budget revealed this week, albeit a back-of-the-napkin sketch, included no money for new transit projects. Bus Rapid Transit would be eligible for federal funding because it is already underway, but may not be able to be built without a greater contribution from Orange County taxpayers than the DOLRT agreement allots.
The Republican-dominated General Assembly capped any grant it might make at 10%. Heavily Democratic Chapel Hill and Durham would be naïve to expect the maximum.
The county’s plan for paying its share involves cutting bus hours and limiting the amount it will allot to the Bus Rapid Transit project. It also banks on the economy experiencing no downturn in the next half century. Even so, some years the county will have as little as $200,000 in cash reserves.
The five commissioners who voted to take on this debt did so knowing that a state law is in the works that would prevent the county from charging developers the impact fees that pay for school construction. A bill already passed reduces class size in early grades, which means counties have to find money for additional classroom space and more teachers. The start date has been delayed a year to enable counties time to budget. Orange County, instead, decided to commit to a train that serves those wealthy enough to afford the high rents GoTriangle said to expect from housing within walking distance of a rail station. The working class must fend for themselves.
“You want more Trump?” five county commissioners taunted. “Here’s how you get more Trump.” And they voted Yes on DOLRT.
— Nancy Oates
Bonnie Hauser
/ May 1, 2017Finally – an accurate report about the light rail agreement that Orange County Commissioners signed last week.
thanks Nancy.
Terri
/ May 1, 2017I suppose this is the new version of Godwin’s Law. Whenever something happens that some people don’t agree with–despite their reasoning or investment of time and effort to study the issue–the “loser” will call Trumped.
For every issue there is always more than one way to think about it and vote on it. Just because they didn’t vote the way you wanted, doesn’t make them wrong. And just because someone disagrees with your view doesn’t make them Trump.
Mia Burroughs has proposed a citizens civility award. I hope comparisons to Trump are disallowed in the criteria if her recommendation moves forward.
David
/ May 1, 2017One way to think about what transpired is that the “swing voters” on the Commission (i.e., Burroughs and Jacobs), despite their misgivings about the plan, didn’t want to be the ones to pull the plug on the light rail project, which has strong support among the most powerful economic actors in both Durham and Orange County, as well as among some who, wrongly in my opinion, believe it advances a variety of progressive goals. By voting to approve the plan, these Commissioners have in a sense passed the buck on to the FTA.
If the Feds decline to fund the DOLRT project, will GoTriangle and the LRT enthusiasts let this dream die and recognize that it’s time to come up with a Plan B, or will they plow ahead, spending millions of dollars that may never be reimbursed, in the hope that a future political change (e.g., the Democrats gaining control of state and/or national legislatures) will open up the funding spigot?
One thing I hope Nancy and others will comment on is that the debate over the light rail project made some strange bedfellows. Has there ever been another time when Julie McClintock, Del Snow, Desiree Goldman, and Mark Zimmerman were all on the same side of a contentious issue? The political cleavage in this instance was not the familiar one between pro-development and pro-livability advocates. How would you characterize it? Local vs. regional? Elite interest vs. the commonweal?
Nancy
/ May 1, 2017People who live on credit cards vs. people who live within their means? People who expect others to take care of them vs. people who save for retirement? It does seem to break along the lines of people who understand debt burden and its consequences.
BTW, here’s the link to the interlocal agreement: http://www.orangecountync.gov/document_center/BOCCAgendaMinutes/170427.pdf
Liane Salgado
/ May 1, 2017Thank you, Nancy, for that post. I totally agree with you. I can only hope that the federal agency stops this thing.
CitizenWill
/ May 1, 2017“Mia Burroughs has proposed a citizens civility award.” wins the Orwell award this month.
Where was Mia’s concern when the “#DOLRT at any cost” “trickle-down economics” crowd were lobbing insults freely at anyone – including her colleagues on the BOCC – who questioned the prioritization of LRT over every other mode of transit in the county?
And will Mia be the final arbiter of what constitutes “civil” discourse?
Unbelievably ham-handed attempt to appear conciliatory in a process where she played an exceedingly divisive role.
Bonnie Hauser
/ May 1, 2017Thanks Will – well said. And lets not forget that despite all the hand wringing around finances, Orange County’s citizens are now stuck with a “dead chicken” – an incredibly risky deal with no way out.
Bravo to Earl McKee and Renee Price for calling out this plan for what it is – fiscally unsustainable and socially unjust. Like Nancy and I’ll add Jessica Anderson, Renee and Earl inserted an inspiring demonstration of public service and leadership.
Cindy
/ May 1, 2017I hope President Trump kills this project! As an Orange County/Hillsborough city tax payer NOT in favor of this ridiculous light rail. I’m praying that he does considering 1 of the OC commissioners can’t even explain to the people why he voted for it! “it’s complicated” was his response!
I don’t agree tho with your heading-calling it “trumped”. At least respect the office. It’s sad that the commissioners have saddled OC with all this debt for 3 lousy miles,that serves a smidgen of the county!
plurimus
/ May 1, 2017I have yet to read a coherent reason WHY the county commissioned voted the way they did. So far its been nothing but “I did my due diligence” or “I read all the emails and some twice” rationalizations that are very reminiscent of the Trumpster, in content and relevant veracity.
The DOLRT opponents did a spectacular job of refuting every reason I heard in support of LRT and in the bargain they exposed the significant and repeated GoTriangle misinformation. Too bad some of the commissioners ears are painted on.
Del Snow
/ May 1, 2017Terri,
Are there any specifics about the DOLRT in Nancy’s post that you think are factually incorrect? If so, which ones?
Terri
/ May 1, 2017Del,
My complaint is not about details. It’s about the tone of the public dialog she is promoting. You know as well as I do that using Trump’s name is a public insult. Then there’s the “One of the commissioners who voted for DOLRT shrugged off constituents’ concerns about the staggering debt with: “It will work itself out.”” The implication being that the commissioners didn’t do their homework and are taking this all on faith. Just because they came to a different conclusion that she (and you) did.
There has to be a more civil way to have a public dialog. Not easy to do. No one likes to lose a debate. But deriding the winners as less than diligent, unintelligent, etc. says more about the writer than the subjects.
plurimus
/ May 1, 2017A big step toward civility would be a rational explanation of what they were thinking, rather than a bunch of hand waving and superlatives.
Nancy
/ May 1, 2017Terri, shrugging off 50 years of crushing debt with “It will work itself out” says to me that commissioner did not do their homework and was taking it on faith. Like Plurimus, I’m waiting for commissioners to acknowledge the risk and say why they thought it was worth it to sacrifice bus service for the working class in favor of a train that may not yield any economic development in the county. Woodmont is the only station with the potential to bring in any economic development, and that is being considered for the chopping block already. Will taking that station off the table fulfill the investors’ 2%?
Terri
/ May 2, 2017Nancy, your approach to this issue indicates to me that you have not had to make any controversial decisions. Or maybe you have and shrugged off those who disagreed with you too but there was no one around who wanted to capitalize on it.
Regardless of what decision the commissioners made, they would have had someone making accusations like yours against them. Look at this thread. Mia Burroughs wrote a heartfelt explanation of her decision and then thanked those who had contacted her for the civility of their communications. Yet Bonnie and Will had to mock her idea for civility award.
That’s the way politics has become. If someone takes a different position, they are attacked as wrong, ignorant, uncaring….Trumpist. No surprise we don’t have more qualified people wanting to run for local office.
Del Snow
/ May 2, 2017Terri, I think that what many pro-transit, anti-this LRT people feel is that it the commissioners who were not being civil. When faced with concrete facts – bus service being cut, debt that result in loss of services or rise in property taxes, little positive economic development in OC because of UNC owned land for stations, plus the possibility of Hamilton Rd and Woodmont stations on the potential chopping block, etc., they nodded politely and literally ignored it. This is NOT about having a different opinion – it is about doing what they claimed they would – look out for OC’s fiscal health and they did not do that.
Ultimately, the Commissioners are ordinary people with professions outside the expertise of evaluating the proposal. They CHOSE to ignore the Davenport report and listen to the Go T spin. Why do you feel that they should not be called out on this?
plurimus
/ May 2, 2017Terri,
I totally agree some of the commissioners are unqualified.
I also agree civility is a casualty of politics. It has been that way for a while. I’d like to change that too.
OTOH I completely disagree the Mia’s catharsis was the least bit useful. Her refusal (or inability?) to share her though process and the reasons she thinks that the deal is fair to the Orange county people playing the tax or somehow good for anyone but UNC, Duke and Durham is somehow not a pert of her duty as a public servant is fundamentally problematic. Mia is not alone in this. Barry and the Marks are also guilty of the same.
Sadly the media has been hollowed out and is no longer capable of investigative journalism let alone presenting the facts in a balanced way.
Penny has at least worn her prejudice and ideology proudly on her sleeve and I know from experience she has no facts or clear critical thought to back it up. It has always been this way. Yes, indeed a trumpist before it was fashionable.
plurimus
/ May 2, 2017Sorry for my typos. I was in a hurry this morning is one excuse for my poor typing skills. So the third paragraph above should say:
OTOH I completely disagree the Mia’s catharsis was the least bit useful. Her refusal (or inability?) to share her thought process and the reasons she thinks that the deal is fair to Orange county taxpayers is not a part of her duty as a public servant is fundamentally problematic. Mia is not alone in this. Barry and the Marks are also guilty of the same.
Terri
/ May 2, 2017Del, I don’t think the decision was as cut and dried as you and your anti-LRT friends do. I really don’t know how I would have voted if it had been my responsibility.
You appear to think that each commissioner owes you an explanation for their thought process in arriving at their decision. Until last Thursday, I may have agreed with you. But while you were at the BOCC meeting, I was at an OWASA meeting being harangued for having explained my thought process on fluoride. I read the anti-fluoride documents we were sent, explained what I learned and the basis for my decision, and because it wasn’t the decision some of them wanted, I was treated to a level of uncivility that far exceeds the Trumpist accusation. Fortunately, I have only 3 more board meetings before my appointment expires. But I can assure you that I would not be explaining myself again if I had longer to serve.
The five commissioners were elected; if you don’t like their decision, don’t vote for them in the future. If you feel explaining every vote is a requirement for serving in OC, then find candidates who will agree to that requirement. In the meantime, there is no excuse for being uncivil. Those who don’t like the way they cast their vote can disagree without resorting to insults and labels.
Nancy
/ May 2, 2017Terri, I’m glad you explained your vote on fluoride, and I’m sorry you had to endure incivility. The Historic District Commission developed a statement of behavior expectations that it reads aloud at the start of every meeting, because people applying for permission from the board have fallen to unacceptably low standards of behavior, and the board of volunteer experts should not have to be subjected to that incivility.
I would hope that people who opposed the county taking on so much unsustainable debt would not be uncivil. But absolutely the commissioners have an obligation to share their reasoning for imposing such crushing debt on taxpayers. That goes along with the job of holding elected office.
plurimus
/ May 2, 2017The lack of civility is directly due to a lack of trust. You don’t build trust by keeping people in the dark about decision making. If you think voting is a “fire and forget” activity then you are part of the problem.
Bonnie Hauser
/ May 2, 2017Terri – lets remember – our advocacy was always professional, fact-based and civil in our presentation of facts- even when we were hit with public attacks using distorted information and personal insults hurled at social media. “Civility” is not a term that I’d use to describe the public discourse.
And speaking of civil. IMO – it starts with respect and honesty – which was sadly missing from the discussion. Commissioners repeating GoTriangle talking points and Penny Rich commenting that citizen comment sounded like “alt news”.
I wonder how staff, who worked really hard on this, felt when they were instructed to omit critical information in reports and presentations to the commissioners. What message does that send about expectations for professionals.
The rhetoric about civility is simply a distraction from the very risky contract that our commissioners signed on our behalf. If they truly had the facts, then we have a bigger problem.
Bonnie Hauser
/ May 2, 2017Following an example – editing helps.
Terri – lets remember – our advocacy was always professional, fact-based and civil in our presentation of facts- even when we were hit with public attacks using distorted information and personal insults hurled at social media. “Civility” is not a term that I’d use to describe the public discourse.
And speaking of civility. IMO – it starts with respect and honesty – which was sadly missing from the discussion. What we had instead was commissioners repeating GoTriangle talking points. At one point Penny Rich described citizen comment as “alt news”. What’s civil about that?
I wonder how staff, who worked really hard on this, felt when they were instructed to omit critical information in reports and presentations to the commissioners? What message does that send about expectations for the county’s professional staff?
The rhetoric about civility is simply a distraction from the very risky contract that our commissioners signed on our behalf. If they truly had the facts, then we have a bigger problem.
bart
/ May 2, 2017Yes. The idea that this debt will “work itself out” is a lot like “you can keep your doctor.”
Too good to be true, it will be very messy, very expensive and benefit GoT and its cheerleaders. I will live near the thing and it won’t take me anywhere I need to go. And I know this because I’ve studied route map.
Some folks will make a lot of money. Most will be economically impacted through local taxes and debt service that will trickle down, as usual, perhaps forcing some people to move and the cost of living just that much higher. Some will get to pay and live near the damn thing, with all its attendant noise.
Seriously, who benefits from this project? And I don’t mean in some crunchy, good-for-the-planet and much-cooler-than-nasty-cars (except Prius!) way. I mean, follow the money. Who benefits from all the cheerleading?
And this really has nothing to do with Trump. We did this to ourselves. It is a local choice, local values and local money. Those of us who dislike this project and/or disagree will continue to point out the problems and issues. Personally, I think it is like the school district’s Mandarin program. Pretty, shiny thing that costs way more than it delivers and serves very few, although everyone pays for it directly and indirectly. Also a local decision.
bart
/ May 3, 2017I forgot to add that I have been to meetings on this project for several years now, at least since 2011.
The highway 54 study, which came out in August, 2010, provided for light rail. I don’t know when that study was begun.
Obama was President in 2010. Is this his fault? No. The much maligned NC legislature tried to slow it down with the reduced funding, but locals, in particular, continued to push.
I don’t like this decision, but it isn’t Obama and it isn’t Trump (no, political “climate” does not feature either). This has been – pardon the pun – a slow moving train wreck of local origin.
Our local elected officials chose this.