A vote on withdrawing Leander from Cap Metro has been pushed back to a later date. This week, the city and Metro officials did sit down for a talk about the future of the city’s transit service. Cap Metro’s Dottie Watkins said Saturday rail service will begin for Leander in January, and in November of this year expanded mid-day and evening rail service to Leander, current rail service will not change.
Mayor Troy Hill proposed ending that agreement, saying the city spends about half of its annual sales tax revenue on Cap Metro service, but doesn’t get enough in return. Last year, Leander contributed more than $5.1-million to the agency. Mayor Hill wants to lower the 1-percent sales tax rate, but Cap Metro said that’s against state law.
Cap Metro CEO Randy Clarke feels both sides can reach a compromise, as he puts it, Cap Metro needs to be more regional in how we work together and move people, and Cap Metro is very interested in that.
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