Facing $30 million budget deficit, Cobb County commission gives direction to decrease library, transit funding (unemployment rate, neighborhood)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by whodean

I think the transit funding cut is just the unused Cumberland circulator bus. No great loss.

The library closures is more concerning.

I called they would do it once federal grant ran out.

[whodean]

It averages 1 rider per bus.

[ATLTJL]

I doubt anybody in Cobb county would notice if the transit budget was cut.

But there's really nothing worse you can do for a community than to cut libraries and parks. Those are things that the big earning tax base covets, and if you alienate them, then you've got huge issues. No wealthy person wants to live in an area with struggling libraries or crummy parks.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I doubt anybody in Cobb county would notice if the transit budget was cut.

But there's really nothing worse you can do for a community than to cut libraries and parks. Those are things that the big earning tax base covets, and if you alienate them, then you've got huge issues. No wealthy person wants to live in an area with struggling libraries or crummy parks.

A county of 750K+,. people WILL notice cuts to transit. While the middle class and up commuters may not use local bus service, South and Central parts would feel the crunch as they spend more time commuting to work and risk losing income, then housing. How shortsighted of you to say that

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I doubt anybody in Cobb county would notice if the transit budget was cut.

But there's really nothing worse you can do for a community than to cut libraries and parks. Those are things that the big earning tax base covets, and if you alienate them, then you've got huge issues. No wealthy person wants to live in an area with struggling libraries or crummy parks.

Nobody likes cutting libraries and there's not a lot the average citizen can do about it.

However, with parks what they do in the COA is just remove public funding and let a private conservancy be formed to provide the funding.

I guess it's possible you could do something similar with libraries. Isn't that what they did with the NYPL?

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Right out of my mouth haha!

Cobb Linc has $21 Mil. dedicated to it per year. That's 2/3rds of the budget deficit right there, not including the sale value of Cobb Linc's assets that could close the gap for a few years while the county figures itself out.

By contrast, a 1% MARTA tax would be independent of the county's budget, and generate ~$131 Million per year in revenue, or 6 times the Cobb Linc annual funding.

Now that's what I call a solution!

[primaltech]

CCT is the absolute worst. It was the "throw them a bone" solution back when it was founded in 1989 when the county was all full grown and in need of transit. If it hadn't have been created (and if the also-weak and underfunded GRTA had not been created a decade later), and Cobb had no public transit at all, then the public fury to join MARTA (and get actually good transit) would have escalated to a boil, and we'd have MARTA. Instead of the barely-existent non-comprehensive non-rapid bus-only transit non-solution that we have now.

MARTA should have been the only option in the first place.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

CCT is the absolute worst. It was the "throw them a bone" solution back when it was founded in 1989 when the county was all full grown and in need of transit. If it hadn't have been created (and if the also-weak and underfunded GRTA had not been created a decade later), and Cobb had no public transit at all, then the public fury to join MARTA (and get actually good transit) would have escalated to a boil, and we'd have MARTA. Instead of the barely-existent non-comprehensive non-rapid bus-only transit non-solution that we have now.

MARTA should have been the only option in the first place.

IMO GRTA has filled a void that provides thousands of cheap and stress free rides during weekdays, but we need more layers!

[primaltech]

Oh I'm not knocking GRTA, but it can't fill the void of not having actual mass transit (rail) in Cobb and Gwinnett.

Xpress is a perfectly acceptable transit solution for outer counties outside of the urbanized core 5. (Though it should provide express commuter/regional rail in addition to express bus service.)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Oh I'm not knocking GRTA, but it can't fill the void of not having actual mass transit (rail) in Cobb and Gwinnett.

Xpress is a perfectly acceptable transit solution for outer counties outside of the urbanized core 5. (Though it should provide express commuter/regional rail in addition to express bus service.)

100% agreement