Mayor: Transit sales tax funding may be at risk

It was an attention-getting moment Monday night: The Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 to apply for a $75 million* federal grant for the second phase of its controversial streetcar project.

As is typical, council members said why they supported or opposed the project. Council member Michael Barnes, for example, said, “I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the city,” and part of his reasoning was that the streetcar is part of the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s 2030 transit plan. It should be part of the MTC’s process and funded with the county’s half-cent sales tax for transit, he said. (See news articles from