At today’s Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Government hearing, Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) announced that he and State Representative Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) will be sponsoring legislation this session that would provide resources to Minnesota’s Legislative Auditor in order for it to conduct an audit of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project.
State Representative John Petersburg (R-Waseca), Republican Lead on the Minnesota House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, issued the following statement in response to this news:
“In light of the bipartisan concerns being raised about ballooning costs to taxpayers, missed deadline, and other turmoil, I am calling for a pause on any further expenditures on Southwest Light Rail until that full audit is complete. It would be irresponsible to move forward without taking a close look at the mess surrounding this project. We must do our due diligence moving forward, and I encourage Governor Walz and his Met Council appointees to support this fact-finding mission and to stop rubber-stamping every cost overrun with minimal transparency or public input.”