Livingston County Commission: Little Engine that Won't

When it comes to meeting the needs of its people, two headlines pretty much sum up the reality disconnect of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners: "Oil Prices Rise Above $94 a Barrel" and "County Wants Longer Look at Train Plan."

Yes, as oil prices skyrocket, and gas prices follow suit in our bedroom community, the Board of Commissioners continues to stall on bringing mass transit to our doorsteps. So more and more of the hard-earned dollars of Livingston County residents are going into the pockets of foreign countries instead of into the cash registers of local stores and restaurants.

For months, the commissioners have come up with one delaying tactic after another, without actually saying no to the plan for a commuter train between Livingston County and Ann Arbor. Apparently, they hope the idea of WALLY -- the Livingston and Washtenaw train -- will just go away.

The Livingston Press and Argus story in editions for Wednesday (Nov. 14, 2007) reported that the Livingston County Board of Commissioners won't contribute any money any time soon and won't support a tax increase for the service. And it wants to see a 10-year business plan before it joins the governing authority.

Commissioners like Bill Rogers and Jack LaBelle never seem to come right out and say they oppose subsidizing WALLY, but they sure seem to give that impression.
Perhaps they believe that subsidizing transportation with tax dollars violates their conservative principles. If that were true, I would expect to see a lot more toll roads in this county.

Perhaps they don't want to make people mad -- like the taxpayer who came to Tuesday's meeting and suported the proposal. And like the city of Howell and the Howell Downtown Development Authority, which both want the county to contribute to WALLY.

So instead of actually taking a position, the commissioners just delay, delay, delay in the guise of wanting more information.

Apparently, they think the idea of a train is too risky. I don't know how else to interpret LaBelle's question: "How is this thing going to work?"

Well Jack, the first car is called an engine and all the other cars are hooked to it, and the engine says, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" and sure enough pretty soon the engine's wheels start to turn and then slowly the whole train starts to move.

Somebody needs to be the engine in this deal. Somebody needs to show some foresight and provide for the needs of our county. Somebody needs to show some leadership.

P.S. In the interests of full disclosure, I work part-time in Ann Arbor and would like to use this train to get to work. The University of Michigan has said it would subsidize train use for its employees, although I do not know if that benefit would apply to a part-time employee like me.