By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – St. Louis County election officials have certified a petition seeking a referendum on a controversial bond issue.
The petition is meant to halt plans by transit agency Metro to issue $150 million in bonds to pay for cost overruns to the Metrolink expansion project.
But Metro spokeswoman Diane Williams says the people already voted on Metrolink when they passed Proposition M in 1994.
We believe that Prop M allows for additional funding from the existing Prop M
tax to complete the project, Williams said. Failing that, it would be a very expensive proposition to try to find an alternative to complete the project.
Metro critic Tom Sullivan wants to block the bond issue that would allow the agency to continue building the Cross County Metrolink Extension.
Sullivan now has 40 days to collect another 27,000 signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. He says Metro is doing all it can to avoid public scrutiny.
They want to quash our referendum, Sullivan said. I think it's pretty sad that they feel they have to go to this extreme to trample on citizens' rights.
Metro is asking a judge to block a referendum. There's a public hearing set for Wednesday.