The City of Palm Springs, perhaps known best for handing over gobs of taxpayer money to investors and killing anything and everything that is fun, is on a path to kill the Buzz shuttle service before summer hits the Coachella Valley.
Via the Desert Sun:
Facing a budget bind created in large part by soaring pension costs, the Palm Springs City Council has tapped the Buzz for possible elimination. Stopping the service would save the city close to $900,000 a year. The council plans to consider its options in January.
“I think it would be nice to keep the Buzz if we can find a way to pay for it without taxpayer dollars,” Mayor Rob Moon said.
While Free shuttle services have been proven to be beneficial for communities, the Mayor, who will probably get his feelings hurt reading this, seemingly wants to kill the shuttle because it wasn’t his idea.
“We did not feel it was an appropriate use of Measure J funds,” Moon said. Essentially throwing the previous mayor under the (Buzz) bus, Moon added: “It was a Steve Pougnet thing.”
If all of this seems odd, it might be because the mayor and the council all seemed pretty stoked about the Buzz during its first birthday celebration – as he yucked it up with Suzanne Somers:
Then there is the fact that Palm Springs residents just voted for a tax increase to save things like The Buzz, but now the mayor and the council want to to somehow be self-funded, which is weird since they don’t ask the same of developers, who they gladly give millions to, no matter how seedy things appear.
Palm Springs, like no place else.
Related: We took 5 minutes fixed the Palm Springs Buzz Trolley
