By Andrew Ripemoff
"RTD has a well-demonstrated history of developing projects within their projected budgets and time schedules."
Before you start laughing, wait. You're a little too eager. This isn't the punch line, rather it's actual wording from a resolution unanimously passed by the Boulder City Council on May 18th, 2004, in support of an RTD tax increase.
yananine/Flickr
Fast forward a few years. Cal Marsella, RTD general manager, tells the Rocky Mountain News (7/18/08), "Is lengthening the time [of RTD's FasTracks light rail expansion] an option? Yes, but no decision has been made," he said. "Would we consider going to voters for more money? Yes."
It’s like I’ve always said, if you can’t trust the judgment of the Boulder City Council, whose judgment can you trust?
And now, ironically, a city council that once declared its city limits to be a nuclear-free zone is partially to blame for an ever bigger bomb: FasTracks.
From all news accounts, it appears that the "well-demonstrated" reputation of RTD has taken a bit of a hit recently.
Back in November 2004, metro-area voters approved a sales tax hike to pay for a $4.7 billion RTD FasTracks rail development. Nearly four years later, the project is delayed, embroiled in eminent domain controversies, and dealing with speculation of reduced services and routes.
Oh, and I almost forgot. RTD is $1.5 billion over budget.
The reason? RTD officials claim the agency's fiscal woes are the result of higher construction costs. And frankly, that makes sense. After all, who would have ever thought that prices would rise? There are other wasteful expenses and people to blame, but we’re not going to point out these officials or throw anybody under the bus.
That’s because there is no bus. Rail, either. And if you live in Longmont, there may never be.
There is much speculation that the Longmont rail of the route may be axed, which would mean that those poor citizens of Longmont would have the distinction of voting for a tax increase and not seeing any benefits from it. Kind of like for Colorado residents when Ref C passed.
Those naive voters in Longmont had this stupid idea that if you paid for RTD rail service, you would actually get RTD rail service.
Those fools. But it’s not just them.
To reduce expenses, RTD is considering other extreme cost cutting measures, such as eliminating all stops.
"Having to stop to pick up and unload passengers adds quite a bit to our fuel costs," said RTD spokesman Earl T. Snotgoober. "Our research indicates savings of over $8 million a year if we can eliminate the passenger aspect of the project." Okay. So I'm kidding. But you have to know that RTD is now polling just such a policy suggestion to see if it would be remotely feasible.
So who’s to blame for this boondoggle? Everyone who voted for the sales tax hike - an increase that was strongly pushed by our most vocal champions of the taxpayer, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Denver Chamber of Commerce, and the Denver Post editorial board.
So who should pay for RTD's poor planning (and overly rosy fiscal outlooks): You.
"...Commuters must come to grips with the fact that higher fares and paying for parking may be the best way to keep transit viable in an unstable economy."
(Denver Post 7/21/08)
See, apparently that extra .4 % sales tax you pay nearly every day isn’t enough for them. Now RTD wants to charge riders higher ticket prices while even making them pay for parking.
But that’s okay. We knew it was coming. Remember back in the fall of 2004, when Hickenlooper, the chamber, and the Post (oh, and the Boulder City Council too) all hosted a press conference to warn us all that RTD might one day run out of money? That its fiscal projections might be less than perfect? That, God forbid, an entire economy mortgaged to the hilt might one day run out of steam, thus requiring RTD to repay its debts with something other than the hopes and aspirations of smart growth kool-aid addicts?
No?
That’s because they didn’t. Not the backers, not the Post, not the Boulder City Council. Nobody.
Well, except for that pesky Jon Caldara, president of that extremist institute out there in Golden that just wouldn't shut up about how RTD might have been selling taxpayers a load of diesel-fueled dreams.
Caldara was crazy. Everything was going to be perfect just so long as we gave RTD more of our money. And now RTD just needs a little bit more. Like $1.5 billion more.
So I say, make THEM pay. Pony up Denver Post. Get out your checkbook Boulder City Council. Bring it on, Denver Chamber. Since you were the guys shoving this project on us, you can pay the $1.5 billion dollar difference.
We’ll blame them. Throw them under the bus I say. Or better yet, throw them under the rail.
That is, assuming we ever get one. Oh, and don't worry. We won't charge you interest. Assuming construction costs rise and all.