LEANDER, Texas — Leander voters may decide the future of the City's partnership with Capital Metro.
According to a report from KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman, the transit agency provides bus and commuter rail service between Leander and Austin. The City pays 1% of its sales tax for the service.
In May, the Leander City Council approved putting the issue on the ballot, but it still needs to approve calling an election. The council approved the resolution before a newly elected mayor and a council member took their positions and before a June 5 runoff election decides two other council races.
Christine Sederquist was the only council member to vote against the resolution on May 20 before she took office as Leander's new mayor, the Statesman reported.
"This was an 11th-hour move by the outgoing mayor," Sederquist said last week. "I don't even meet with CapMetro's representatives until June, so this vote was intended to start me out on an adversarial relationship with them."
According to the Statesman, former Leander Mayor Troy Hill – who lost his bid for re-election to Sederquist – said the City has already been discussing with CapMetro its possible withdrawal from the agreement.
"Had Ms. Sederquist been involved, she would have known that," Hill said. "She ran on listening to the people, yet now doesn't want to let the people decide? Leander cannot afford to stay in at the amount we pay and see ridership pre-COVID at less than 1%."
CapMetro spokeswoman Jenna Maxfield told the Statesman last week that the agency is committed to continuing to serve the residents of Leander,
"We recently announced the return of Saturday rail service, and we saw our Leander customers respond positively — especially as many people are making summer plans, venturing out to the Domain, and planning their very first trips to Q2 Stadium," Maxfield said. "We look forward to working with the new Mayor and council on our partnership."
To read the full report, click here.
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