Mayor says FTA will withhold millions for rail if GET not extended
Kirk Caldwell:
Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he was told by Federal Transit Administration officials today that they will withhold $250 million in grant money for the city’s $6.57 billion rail project unless they get assurances that the City Council will pass an extension of the 0.5 percent surcharge on general excise tax which is being used to fund the bulk of the project.
Caldwell, after meeting with FTA officials in Washington, D.C., issued a press release with the news this morning. “For me as mayor, I want that money from the federal government,” Caldwell said. “This is $1.55 billion worth of funds that we absolutely need, and we don’t want to go back to our population and say that you need to pay 100 percent instead of accepting the` $1.55 billion. It’s critical that we pass the surcharge extension of five years that the FTA is waiting for.”
The Council Budget Committee is in the midst of hearings on Bill 23, which would OK the extension that is expected to generate $1.6 billion more from Oahu taxpayers.
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation officials insist the entire 20-mile, 21-station line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center cannot be completed without having the surcharge extended five years through 2027.
Council Chairman Ernie Martin has introduced an amended version of the bill which would cap the amount from the surcharge going to rail at $910 million.
In the last two weeks, Martin and other Council members have also urged HART to explore and then present to them alternatives to the surcharge extension, including talking to FTA about reducing the length and scope of the project.
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At a Budget Committee meeting Monday night, Martin told HART Chairman Don Horner that the board should also explore the idea of ending its deal with FTA altogether, foregoing the roughly $1.1 billion in Full Funding Grant Agreement money not yet used for the project. Doing so would allow the city to come out from under the restrictions of the federal agreement, he said.
The Budget Committee is scheduled to take up the tax extension bill again Wednesday.
