Our View: Revised rosy sales tax projections convienently allow
pols to pass out ‘pork’ projects, but supporting BART-to-SJ is
fiscally irresponsible
The Valley Transportation Authority’s sudden and suspicious “discovery” of $2 billion dollars in previously unaccounted for sales tax revenue doesn’t change the basic fact that extending BART to San Jose is a bad idea.
It’s beyond suspicious. VTA officials understand that to garner the support of VTA directors and, ultimately, voters outside of the areas served by the BART extension, they must not only pay for BART but also for transportation projects in those areas. To wit: “I’m supportive of the plan as long as we get everything we need in South County,” County Supervisor and VTA Director Don Gage said last week.
The new sales tax projections are based on a forecast by Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, which assumes a stunning 7 percent growth.
It reminds us of the height of the high-tech boom, when cities bought into the idea that the stock market would never take a dip and thus handed
out fat pension packages that are fast becoming unbearable burdens.
Let’s not make that same mistake with VTA projections.
We understand that many VTA officials are willing to
pay any price to extend BART, but that means our sober voices pleading for fiscal responsibility are that much more important.
Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy was exactly right when he warned about the new projections: “… We need to be very cautious because it looks to good to be true, and when something looks too good to be true, it often is.”
He appears to have learned the lessons of history when he added, “Everything looked so rosy (for Measure A) and then the bottom fell out and there’s no guarantee that won’t happen again. Sales tax revenue is typically very volatile and rises and falls with the economy.”
When you factor in the very high likelihood of BART cost overruns and the VTA’s history of overly optimistic ridership projections (look at the poor ridership of the BART-to-SFO extension), it becomes clear that the suspicious “found” money doesn’t change the math: We cannot afford to extend BART.
Throw in the cost to operate the BART extension and it’s a done deal: There’s no rational justification for extending BART to Silicon Valley.
Abandoning the BART boondoggle frees up billions of dollars for other projects – a new Highway 152, for example – that make more economic sense in terms of relieving traffic pressure and safety. Moreover, projects like a Highway 152 connection to U.S. 101 serve a much wider geographic area and a larger population.
Don’t be fooled by “found” money based on unrealistic projections. Extending BART is still a bad idea. It’s time to abandon that ship and get down to other business.
