Committee approves $59.3 million appropriation for 'Choose How You Move' program

The Government Operations & Regulations Committee approved a resolution to appropriate $59,300,000 to accounts benefiting Metro infrastructure, the Department of Information Technology services and the mayor’s office in connection with the Choose How You Move transportation infrastructure program.

The appropriation, filed as RS 20 25 10 74, was moved and seconded and passed on a 6-1 vote. Committee members voted to approve the resolution after brief discussion about how program revenues will be tracked and reported to the public.

Committee members asked whether the city would publish a running tracker showing receipts from the new transportation revenue source. Amanda Deaton Moyer of the Department of Finance said the program “started being collected on February 1” and that the city “will see our first receipts on April 20.” She added that the revenue “will be tracked the way all of our revenue is tracked.” Deaton Moyer later stated on the record that she opposed the resolution: “Oh, this is okay. Wait a minute. Hold on. . . . I’m a no on 1.”

The committee chair moved the resolution to a vote after discussion; the motion was seconded and approved by a 6-1 tally. The recorded vote was 6 in favor, 1 opposed, 0 not voting. The transcript does not provide names for the members who voted aye; the lone recorded opposing vote was cast by Amanda Deaton Moyer (Department of Finance).

No further funding breakdowns or program implementation details were discussed during the committee session. Committee staff acknowledged they are collecting the new revenue and that an itemized tracker is not yet available; a request to consider posting a public tracker online was taken “under advisement.”