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There is no time to waste

Date: Aug 2, 2022 2:00:00 p.m.
The Time to Vote


Next August 2, 2022, Detroit, Michigan, USA will once again have a choice.

In Macomb County and in participating communities in Oakland and Wayne counties in the State of Michigan, USA, the registered voters will decide on a tax proposal to pay for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation - SMART, metro Detroit's suburban bus system. All existing funds and service are protected by federal laws.


The abolition of state revenue sharing... * Click Here

* An analysis why federal and state funds from fuel taxes are essential

The Master Plan ** in reality is a $2 Billion Tax Shift to pay for the I-94 (SEMCOG RTP 935) and I-75 (RTP 2514) freeway expansions using local tax increases of all kinds. This is a situation without any hope to meet the safety requirements of removing cars from overcrowded roads, protecting the transit dependent and the dangers of night driving. When looked at in a close union or whole, it is a recipe for disaster destroying the Beautiful City of Detroit.


** Regional Transit Master Plan
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The transportation tax increase and renewal proposals have become so corrupt in this Detroit that competent opposition with proven solutions to defeat them is now essential. The residents believe a new regional authority will receive federal grants and improve public transit. These grants and the required fare box to revenue ratio are non-existent. Statistics reveal the new authority is not willing or able to provide safe and affordable bus service at any cost. The transit advocacy groups have sold out to the imperial capitalism of the wealthy and ignorant political leaders. Obtaining complete financing and eliminating the known obstacles that are preventing mass transit now means defeating the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) next August 2022. In addition, the Regional Transportation Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) must be prohibited from allowing the public a vote in November 2020.

The passage of the August 7, 2018 SMART renewal is proof of the necessity to change the language at the voting booth. The protection of all revenue sources is morally and legally obligatory. The Federal excise and state fuel taxes and passenger fares need to be in writing with their specific objectives and purpose. Detroit families could soon be replacing old buses for new ones with little money should local transit proposals pass in their present form. This is dangerous causing more accidents by forcing people to drive late at night due to high costs and service reductions.

Since 1995, over $1 Billion dollars for freeway expansions were raised by SMART shifting the cost of transportation to the local governments. The downtown one will add one lane in each direction for 6.7-miles and add continuous service roads to accommodate local traffic along both sides, eliminating left-lane entrance and exit ramps. North of the city is another one which will replace all vehicle and pedestrian bridges and add a 17-mile lane north and south to be used for carpooling during rush hour and regular traffic at other times. There are many statistics proving these will make existing bus service worse. This makes SMART an integral part of a lethal combination causing urban decay and the destruction of farmlands and wetlands. The public is told these expansions will stimulate the economy, improve the quality of life by reducing congestion and add safety improvements. The attitude is more concrete, more freeways are practical because public transportation here is not going to take the place of the automobile.

SMART and the RTA lack the desire, legal ability and logistics to coordinate the movement of people at this moment. This has resulted in more dangerous highways in rural areas due demographics changes. Transit proposals today mean putting the car and trucking industry profits first and safety last. An educated public will vote NO to end passivity and the squandering of money on ill-conceived transportation projects that are based on prejudice and lies. --

-- Please see -- http://savethefueltax.org

Harold Leese
Gatineau, Quebec

A worldwide campaign is necessary because the voters in Detroit
are unaware of the safety and economic dangers they are now facing


Misconceptions about the SMART Property Tax

  • State law requires millages like this one to be renewed by the voters every 4-5 years - There is presently no such law.

  • Without voter approval August 7, SMART bus service would STOP, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded and adding thousands more cars to the road. - If this failed, not one single person would have been stranded and there would have been no cars added to the roads.

  • SMART is not the Regional Transportation Authority of Southeast Michigan - RTA . - There can only be one Authority for funding purposes under federal law.

  • What does concern me is that people will think this SMART millage is about (the Regional Transit Authority) and it is not.. - There is no truth to this statement.

  • SMART is only a "partial solution.". - Not when you cut federal and state fuel taxes from them at the voting booth.

  • Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation could cut up to 843 employees if voters reject the millage renewal. - The August 7, 2018 property tax renewal was protected by federal laws.

  • SMART receives approximately 25 percent of its funding from the gas tax. Without local funding, SMART or any transit agency cannot receive reimbursement for expenses from the gas tax." . - Expenses from the gas tax are mandatory in Michigan by federal laws without any local funding at this time.

  • The group recommends ending the SMART property tax and instead putting money toward vouchers for more direct transportation such as Uber and Lyft. . - The Michigan Comprehensive Transit Fund for the transit dependent is in grave danger thanks to your opponents. So, please consider joining forces.

Replying to xxxxx @ xxxxx If the SMART millage fails, with a NO vote in any county, it will NOT be renewed, and SMART service will end in that county. State funding is based on a formula, and federal dollars are through an application process, which SMART consistently applies to each and every year. 1:40 PM - 11 Jul 2018

Harold Leese, gatineauperson@gmail.com If the SMART millage fails in August 2022 with a NO vote, it will mean NO Federal, State or Local cuts in funding. It also means no cuts in essential service and no job loses including those who work for SMART. The wording in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is proof and makes this clear as explained in this website.

These ads used to pass the SMART 2018 tax are a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.