Politics and the MTA

A political power struggle over a plan to hike the county's sales tax to fund more transit projects boiled over into the City Council chambers Wednesday as council members urged county officials to reconsider a refusal to put the measure on the county's November ballot. Daily News.

The 10-2 vote came a day after the county Board of Supervisors made its surprise decision, citing inequities in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plans to spend the $40 billion the measure would raise over three decades.

The MTA now faces a costly legal battle to try to get a judge to force the measure onto a consolidated general ballot in November or spend up to $3 million to print the measure on a separate ballot.

"It is going to go on the ballot anyway," Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said. "We should avoid the unnecessary expense to taxpayers of going to court or having the MTA pay for the election."