TARTA offers incentive for shift to sales tax

6/8/2010

The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority hasn't given up its campaign to get its primary source of funding shifted to a sales tax.

The authority's finance committee yesterday agreed to a 0.25-mill rollback on its county tax levy should voters approve a proposed sales tax in November. It also agreed to postpone the effective date of the sales tax by three months, from April 1, 2011, to July 1, 2011. Under that approach, TARTA would not start receiving revenue from the sales tax until mid-October.

TARTA currently levies 2.5 mills of property tax. To replace it with a sales tax, all nine TARTA member communities in Lucas and Wood counties must agree to place the issue before voters on the November ballot. On June 1, Sylvania Township trustees voted against authorizing such a vote.

TARTA is hoping they reconsider.