A Travis County judge has dismissed a lawsuit to stop the city of Austin from collecting property taxes to for its Project Connect transportation program.
Judge Eric Shepperd on Dec. 20 signed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the tax rate for Project Connect is "miscalculated" because the money is not being spent properly.
Plaintiffs in the suit opposed the voter-approved, taxpayer-funded effort to revamp Austin’s public transit system, claiming the changing project scale and increasing costs have made it a “bait-and-switch scheme.” Opponents the city to stop collecting property taxes for the project and for leaders to put a revised version of the plan to a vote in a bond election.
The decision will “very likely” be appealed, Bill Aleshire, the plaintiff's attorney, said. Aleshire said the class-action lawsuit was based on a “relatively new and untested provision” in Texas Tax Code 16.05. He said it strengthens taxpayer protections and can stop the city from collecting its property tax if the tax rate is miscalculated.
Project Connect was originally $7 billion plan that included 30 miles of rail with airport and downtown routes but now has $11 billion budget and half the routes, Aleshire said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also fighting the plan and has filed an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court after the 15th Court of Appeals dismissed his plea that froze a trial over the transit project’s funding.
While the appeal is pending, bonds can’t be issued for Project Connect and it is unlikely a contractor would agree to a construction contract with no guaranteed source of payment, Aleshire said.
The Austin Transit Partnership, which oversees Project Connect, called the lawsuit “baseless,” saying the money saved so far will be used in upcoming years for future construction.
