The City Council on Tuesday formalized its support for a Wayne County transit millage on the August ballot and urged Detroiters to get to the polls.
The Detroit City Council resolution, spearheaded by Council President James Tate, notes that transit service is a lifeline for low-income residents, seniors, residents with disabilities and essential workers and a “critical tool” for advancing economic opportunity in the city and across Wayne County.
In Detroit, 22% of households don’t have access to a private vehicle. Detroit’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) serves an average of 85,000 riders per day, providing an “essential mobility infrastructure” that connects Detroiters and visitors to jobs, education, healthcare services and other opportunities, the resolution notes.
“Access to reliable transportation is a matter of economic justice, racial justice and disability justice,” the resolution reads. “Inadequate regional transit access disproportionately burdens residents who are already facing systemic inequities in housing, employment, education and community participation.”
A coalition of community organizations, labor unions, business leaders and advocacy groups also announced their official endorsement of the millage in a Tuesday news release, including Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans and Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah.
Voters in 17 communities, including Detroit, will vote Aug. 4 on the 10-year millage, which would generate about $50 million annually, and revenue collected in Detroit – a projected $7-10 million – would stay in the city for the DDOT system. The annual revenue for Detroit would go toward operational support to boost “frequency, reliability, and regional connectivity” for Detroit riders.
Tate said Tuesday that Detroit “can only do better” with more money going into the transit system.
Transit providers and advocates say that the millage would help close the service gaps for communities without Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) service.
But the measure also prompted controversy and a lawsuit from a group of Wayne County residents who argued that there was a lack of transparency around the Wayne County Transit Authority’s process of getting the measure on the ballot and that the tax is too costly. The authority has countered that everything about the process was above board.
The proposal asks voters to authorize the Wayne County Transit Authority to levy the millage to fund public transportation services in Wayne County, including for operations, maintenance and expanding services for seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and the general public. The levy would amount to about $8 a month for a home with a market value of roughly $200,000.
Approximately 300,000 to 350,000 Wayne County residents live in communities with limited or no access to public transit. Regional public transit has been a contentious topic for years, though voters in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties approved millages in 2022.
