There won’t be a request on the November ballot for voters to increase sales tax 4 cents on a $10 purchase to fund FasTracks, but the question could be on the ballot in the next year or two

The Regional Transportation District Board of Directors unanimously voted down a proposal to put the issue on the 2010 ballot. Then, the board unanimously approved a resolution confirming the question could be on the ballot in 2011 or 2101 during the special April 13 meeting.

“This is the right thing to do,” said Jack O’Boyle, RTD board member who represents parts of Centennial, Arapahoe County and Douglas County. “My heart tells me that we should go to voters this year for the tax increase in order to keep FasTracks on schedule. But my brain tells me this isn’t the time to put this on the ballot. So, we’ll pass up this year and, at the same time, make all the preparations so, when the time is right, we’ll mount a successful campaign to enlist voter support for the project.”

Voters approved a sales-tax increase in 2004 to build FasTracks, a major mass transit expansion that includes 122 miles of commuter and light rail service plus improved bus service throughout the metro area.

However, the slumping economy, coupled with rising costs have left FasTracks about $2.4 billion short of having the money to complete the entire program as promised by 2017.

The option was to go to the voters for additional money and RTD board held the special April 13 meeting that to gather public comment about whether or not to put the sales-tax question on the 2010 ballot.

A dozen people spoke to the board and, while all speakers want to see FasTracks completed as planned and on time, they all agreed that this wasn’t the time to ask voters to approve an additional sales-tax increase.

“It really comes down to the state of the economy,” said Lee Kemp, board chairman. “We are seeing some recovery but a lot of people are still having a tough time making ends meet so it just isn’t appropriate to ask them to pay more taxes right now.”

The decision not to go to the voters in 2010 came after months of evaluating data on the economy and studying polling results.

At the same meeting, John Tayer, board member representing the Boulder area, introduced a resolution committing to moving FasTracks forward, which could include asking voters to approve the tax increase in 2011 or 2012.

“Voter approval of the tax increase now would be bring additional jobs to the area and reduce costs,” he said as he introduced the resolution. “But now is not the right time for this ballot issue.”

He said, to make it clear the board’s position, he was introducing the resolution to let everyone know we are committed to completing FasTracks by 2017, which means we probably will have the issue on the ballot in the next year or two.