The Rapid


The Rapid

The Kent County Taxpayers Alliance has, for the past several years, kept up the pressure on The Rapid (legally known as the Interurban Transit Partnership or ITP) because it is the least transparent and most wasteful government entity in Kent County. Our sub-project, ITP Watch, has collected significant data and reports in order to document The Rapid’s waste and ineffectiveness.

The Rapid continues to ask for and receive tax increases every several years to spend money on such wasteful and redundant programs as the $50 million Silver Line bus route in Grand Rapids. Voters in Walker, Grandville, Kentwood, and Wyoming have consistently voted against these tax increases, often by significant margins, but because votes are counted across the six cities in The Rapid’s taxing district, they are out-voted. We believe this is unfair and contrary to sound principles of local control. The Rapid is the only government entity in the county that can raise your taxes but has a completely unelected and unaccountable board of directors.

To learn much more about The Rapid’s waste, please visit our ITP Watch web site by clicking here.

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    ITP Watch
    Kent County Open Government Project

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