Leander voters approve continuing partnership with CapMetro
Leander voters have approved continuing the city's partnership with Capital Metro, which provides buses and rail for the city. Unofficial final results Saturday night from Williamson and Travis counties showed 3,896 votes in support and 2,762 against.
This is the third time since 1985 that voters have approved the CapMetro partnership. The city faced a penalty of more than $40 million if voter rejected the partnership.
Opponents of Leander's partnership have said there are too few riders on the MetroRail trains to justify the expense and that the city can save money by providing its own transportation services.
Those who want to continue the partnership have said the city will receive millions in transportation funds from CapMetro if voters support the agreement and could lose millions in federal transportation money if they decide to discontinue the partnership. Supporters also say ridership will increase because of Leander's population growth.
Leander residents also rejected a ballot proposition asking whether they wanted to redirect the 1% sales tax the city pays to CapMetro instead to Leander's general revenue fund to be used for economic development, public transportation and infrastructure to support growth.
Final results showed 3,800 voters turning down the ballot proposition while 2,678 approved redirecting the sales tax.
READ: Leander voters to decide whether to keep CapMetro rail, bus services
Cedar Park bonds
Cedar Park voters approved three bond propositions that total $158.8 million for public safety, transportation and park projects, according to unofficial final results.
Proposition A is for $86.6 million in transportation improvements; 5,405 voters supported the measure while 2,311 said no. Proposition B is $42.2 million in park improvements, and Proposition C is for $30 million for a public safety facility. The former had 5,276 voters supporting it while 2,416 voters were against it. The latter received 5,595 votes in favor and 2,095 against it.
Approval of the bonds will not cause the property tax rate to increase, city officials have said.
Read: Cedar Park City Council approves biggest bond election in its history
Leander and CapMetro
In 2021, Leander paid $9.8 million for CapMetro services. Voters first approved the agreement with CapMetro in 1985 and then again in 2000.
The transit agency provides commuter bus and MetroRail service to Austin as well as on-demand bus service within Leander. If Leander leaves, CapMetro would have no Williamson County cities receiving its services.
The penalty for leaving the partnership was $42.3 million March 31, based on a formula in state law, said Jenna Maxfield, a spokeswoman for the agency. She said the cost changes daily and couldn't be determined until voters made the decision.
The city would have been required to continue paying its 1% annual sales tax to CapMetro until the penalty is paid off if voters had decided to end the partnership, agency officials said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Leander voters approve continuing partnership with CapMetro
