By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The controversial tax increase proposal for Metro is being taken off of the February ballot in St. Louis County.
County Executive Charlie Dooley made the announcement today, saying that public confidence in the transit agency has been weakened by Metro's recent multi-million-dollar loss in court.
"We want to give the citizens of this community and opportunity not to look at Metro from a trial point of view but performance, expectation, are they meeting the goals of the community, not by the trial. And we believe this is not the best time for Metro to show that what they're doing is a positive thing in our community."
Dooley says that Metro leaders do not know when the half-cent sales tax increase will be brought before voters.
Also today, St. Louis businessman Bob Baer (BEAR) was introduced as the interim Metro President. He replaces Larry Salci, who left the agency last week after a tumultuous six-year tenure.