Mayor Barry internal poll shows initial support for higher taxes to fund Nashville mass transit

Days before Mayor Megan Barry rolls out her long-awaited mass transit plan, a new Barry internal poll says more than half of Nashville voters support raising a combination of four taxes to pay for a potentially $5 billion undertaking.

A telephone poll financed last week by Barry’s campaign committee, obtained by The Tennessean, found that 57 percent of respondents support a plan for mass transit projects, including light rail, that would be paid for by a combination of higher sales taxes, hotel taxes, car registration fees, and business taxes. The poll found 37 percent in opposition.

The survey — perhaps signaling what the mayor plans to put forward — comes as Barry is embarking on a seven-month transit campaign. She wants voters to approve a referendum on dedicated funding for mass transit, but would first need Metro Council approval to add it to the May 1 local primary election ballot.

Barry intends to unveil her transit plan, which will include both design and financing details, on Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/10/12/mayor-megan-barry-mass-transit-poll-nashville/758478001/