Mayor Dean does not support Tygard’s proposals to raise taxes to pay for mass transit

The Nashville Scene reports, "Dean Administration Not Interested in Tygard's Dedicated Funding Talk on The Amp."

One of Tygard's favorite talking points of late points to the increasing Metro subsidy of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. In 2008, Tygard says, the general government subsidy to the MTA was $17 million. But 6 years later it's up to $33 million. All of this, he notes, as Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling has asked Metro departments to prepare a 3 percent budget cut scenario going into this year's budget process.

Tygard says he's not eager to raise taxes, but insists that The Amp has gotten too far down the tracks without a real discussion about how it will be paid for in the long term. If the answer is simply that the funds will continue to come out of the Metro budget, that is likely to be a problem for some on the council.

Apparently the Mayor would rather build it and then worry about how we will pay for it latter.

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