VIA
UPDATE

Now that the furor over Council’s decision to investigate the possibility of
calling for a referendum on whether or not to opt out of VIA and use the revenue to fix the infrastructure of the City has subsided temporarily, an update is in order.

In January and February the Council held two public forums on the issue. Bus riders, non-bus riders, residents, non-residents, business owners and anyone who believed they would be impacted by the effects of opting out of VIA as the source for public transportation, attended. They expressed fear that disabled bus riders and others would somehow be disenfranchised by the move. From the City’s perspective, that was not the case. The City was not only looking at revenue sources but looking into the possibility of offering alternative public transportation. Once the Council voted unanimously to shelf the idea, a number of residents took a petition to the voters and obtained the legally required number of signatures for a referendum to be placed on a September ballot. By law, the City must now call for a special election to decide the outcome. Since Balcones Heights is now aware that it has an escrow account with VIA to address the City’s infrastructure, it is up to the VIA Board to approve funding for a number of projects within the City.