Surrounded by several key business leaders, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle today proposed legislation to create a Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SERTA) to invest in the mass transit needs of the Milwaukee region.
Doyle said his plan would create jobs by improving bus and rail service in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine counties.
"Regional transit doesn't just improve the way we move people and goods – it improves the overall economy in southeast Wisconsin," Doyle said. "We now have a good, solid plan for a Southeastern Regional Transit Authority. We have the support of local communities, the support of legislators and the support of the state's business leaders. Now, let's get to work and get it done."
Doyle said the legislation would provide "major" property tax relief by removing the funding for mass transit from the property tax rolls. He said the plan would position the proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail line for obtaining New Starts funding from the Federal Transit Administration.
The plan would allow individual communities to join SERTA when they are ready and would provide incentive funding for joining SERTA.
Several state legislators pledged their support for the compromise legislation, which began circulating today. The supporters include Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha), Sen. John Lehman (D-Racine) and Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie).
In his last budget, Doyle signed three other RTAs into law in Dane County, the Chippewa Valley and the Chequamegon Bay area.
Doyle was joined today by CEOs and business leaders from some of Wisconsin's largest companies to announce the plan at Bucyrus International Inc.'s headquarters in South Milwaukee. Among those joining Doyle today: Racine Mayor John Dickert, J. Fisk Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.; Robert Mariano, chairman and CEO of Roundy's Supermarkets; Steve Roell, chairman, president and CEO of Johnson Controls Inc.; Scott VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin; Ed Zore, CEO and president of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance; and Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee.
Business leaders join Doyle in support of new regional transit authority
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