Hillsborough County's "Equity" Transformation: $18B Rail Tax, Remove Interstates, Race Conscious Solutions, Unconscious Bias, DEI Training, Bigger Bureaucracy and Ballooning Budget

TAMPA

From: Eye On Tampa Bay
Posted by: Sharon Calvert

Hillsborough County admits the Tampa Centric 5 Democrat commissioners put a rail tax on the November ballot. The 30 year ONE PERCENT (NOT ONE CENT) $18 BILLION rail tax is part of the County's "transformation" to use "Equity" in everything the County does and in all the County's decision making including transportation. 

 Using $175K of taxpayer funds, consultant MGT of America, LLC created a Hillsborough County "Equity" profile. On July 27, 2022 the County held an "Equity" Workshop. The meeting video can be found on the County's Youtube channel here. Commissioners Overman, Cohen, Kemp, Myers and Smith attended the Workshop.  

The Workshop presented the County Administrator's Review and Action Plan for the MGT Community Equity Report. Below is Recommendation #6 claiming County taxpayers "agree" that more "investment" (they will never call it a massive tax hike) into public transit - including RAIL - "is needed".

Rail Tax is Part of County's "Equity" Transformation That claim is not true! Hillsborough County in general does NOT agree with that claim.

As reported here and here, a survey done last year reflected:

Three-quarters (75%) of the residents in Hillsborough County wouldn’t use mass transit to commute to work even if it were conveniently available

Only 15% would consider using transit

89% of those interviewed want their roads fixed first

96% of those who reject transit either see no need, already have transportation or believe transit is inconvenient.

Also odd is that rail projects gentrify low income neighborhoods and run out the residents and businesses who can no longer afford to live there. And the Tampa rail projects benefit the wealthy special interests donor class. That's "Equity"?

READ THE ENTIRE POST HERE: Hillsborough County's "Equity" Transformation

This post is contributed by EYE ON TAMPA BAY. The views expressed in this post are the blog publisher's and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher of BayPost Internet.

 Cross Posted with permission from: Eye On Tampa Bay