The Austin City Council is the target of a new class action lawsuit, brought by seven taxpayers, arguing that they miscalculated the tax rate and are collecting taxes for a drastically different version of Project Connect than the one approved by voters in 2020.
This is the second lawsuit against Project Connect since the City Council and Capital Metro Board of Directors changed the plan, scaling it back from 28 miles of rail to less than 10, eliminating more than 10 stops, the downtown tunnel and the airport connection.
The first lawsuit is challenging the financing mechanism proposed for the rail plan under State Law and whether they have authority to spend the funds on the new project. This new lawsuit says the city cannot even collect the tax.
Bill Aleshire, the plaintiffs’ legal counsel, said that his clients "are getting nothing, absolutely nothing" from what he described as an "‘annual appropriation’ of the Project Connect tax."
Four years ago, citizens passed a 21% increase in the city's operations and maintenance property tax – the largest in the state capital’s history – for what was described as a "city-wide traffic easing" rail system combined with an all-electric bus system for a cost of $7.1 billion.
According to the suit, in June 2023, almost three years after the passage of the measure, the proposed rail system had been cut more than in half with the elimination of many key elements.
In addition, plans for an all-electric bus fleet were rescinded recently. The city has continued to collect the full amount of the Project Connect tax, which they describe as an epic "bait and switch."
Cathy Cocco, an Austin resident who voted for the original plan in 2020, said she was shocked by the cost increases and the changes to the plan, and explained at the press conference, she does not support the new rail plan.
"This is a bait and switch, with fine print 'payment terms' that I was not aware of, and definitely not what I voted for," said Cocco.
Similarly, Rick Fine, co-counsel in the lawsuit, and Daniel Young, the General Manager of Dirty Martin's voted in favor of the 2020 plan but do not support the city's new plan.
The other plaintiffs in the case are Barbara Epstein, who is elderly and blind and depends heavily on public transportation; Susana Almanza; Dirty’ Martins; and former and current elected officials Gonzalo Barrientos, Margaret Gomez, and Ora Houston.
The litigation aims to have taxpaying citizens pay $187 million less tax this year and cease the Project Connect Tax.