Metro-area mayors say they will oppose any talk by RTD of cutting back on their FasTracks corridors in the midst of a budget crisis.

But they're not ready to say more tax money is the answer.

"Longmont citizens voted favorable on this in 2004 just because of what the package offered to people up here," said Roger Lange, the city's mayor. "To offer something different isn't fair to voters, and it isn't the right thing. Not serving Longmont is just not an option as far as we are concerned."

RTD officials conceded last week that with costs up markedly over what it budgeted four years ago and revenues from the tax that voters approved not bringing in as much as expected, it won't be able to deliver the same program voters were promised by 2017.

Instead, the agency must consider scaling back the scope of some of the projects, delaying their full build-out and asking voters for more money or finding massive savings through privatization.

It won't be easy. Mayors along the FasTracks corridors say they want the full project to be built, and they want it by the 2017 completion date. While that leaves a new tax bailout as the remaining large-scale option, none endorsed it right out of the box. RTD first needs to put definite dollar amounts on its dilemma.

Officials stand together

"Nobody in any corridor is going to welcome a push-back of opening dates," said Arvada Mayor Bob Frie. "Nobody welcomes the idea of more taxes, but with gas prices as they are, people are anxious for FasTracks to get built. They may be willing to pay more money for it. I don't welcome that debate though. RTD is in a tough spot.

Added Longmont's Lange: "RTD might just have to go for more money, that might be the reality of it."

The Boulder County city of Longmont sits at the farthest point on the longest proposed FasTracks corridor, the 41-mile Northwest Rail commuter train project. As such, it would be a seemingly easy call to scale back the end of the line to Boulder, the original planned stopping point for the corridor before it was expanded for the FasTracks program.

Last year, when the entire FasTracks program leaped from the $4.7 billion package presented to voters to a new total of $6.1 billion, the Northwest Rail project's share went from $565.1 million to $684.4 million.

But Lange has allies in what looks to be a united front of city and county elected officials, who are defending their neighbors' interests for the sake of their own turf.

Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer put it most graphically: "It won't work to try to gore just one ox. This was a regional effort and we figured out an answer so that everybody benefited. Now we need to make sure that in any new answer, everyone still benefits."

Trust in RTD is broken

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, whose core city would be the last to suffer cuts because most of the corridors originate at Denver Union Station, closed ranks with Lange, his outermost counterpart.

"I think we're committed to the full scope of work and to the timeline," Hickenlooper said. "I am no less committed to that than the mayor of Longmont is. We all worked on this together and therefore, the preferred thing is to build what was promised and certainly, if there are any changes, they should be fairly shared."

Political analyst and pollster Floyd Ciruli said the problem for RTD seeking another tax hike is twofold. First, RTD's trust with the community has been broken by not being able to deliver on the original plan.

"The problem is lack of trust in government, and given the promises they made, even with the extenuating circumstances of inflation in construction, it really empowers the opponents, many of whose arguments against it four years ago were fulfilled," Ciruli said. "RTD underpriced it and overpromised it."

The second problem RTD would face is the poor state of the economy, a bad time to ask voters for anything even if they like it.

"The bottom line is that people are anxious and their discretionary income is tightening, making it very difficult to make a case for raising taxes," Ciruli said. "RTD has one argument, people like transit, and if anything it's even a bigger alternative given $4-a-gallon gas."

Regional solution needed

Cal Marsella, RTD general manager, said the agency is focused on building the full lengths of the nine FasTracks rail corridors and a 10th corridor that involves a dedicated bus, car-pool and toll lane on U.S. 36. His staff plans to present new budget numbers and financial plans to the RTD elected board by mid-August.

"We're certainly going in with the goal of building what we went to the electorate with in every corridor," Marsella said.

Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy is in a city where the only FasTracks project under contract, the West Corridor light rail, is starting early construction. Even so, he's not taking an "I got mine already" attitude.

"From the regional perspective, our line will be that much better if the whole system gets built out," Murphy said. "This is a regional issue and it's going to take a regional solution, and all options need to stay on the table for now."

flynnk@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5247

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