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An Honest and Full Accounting
A perspective from Scott Madry
It was recently in the news that GoTriangle’s failed light rail system connecting UNC and Duke hospitals ended up costing $157,043,612.00 for the now-defunct Durham-Orange Light Rail project. Of that, Nearly $131 million, or 83%, of the money went toward management, salaries, and design costs. Where did all that money come from and where did it go? How much Orange County taxpayer’s money went to all those consultants and designers? And why and how did we get absolutely nothing in return?This was an ill-advised process from the beginning, and we must ask where is the accountability from our Orange County commissioners and those who so badly mismanaged this. Who made the poor decisions that led to our paying out all this money and receiving nothing in return? The taxpayers and voters of Orange County deserve a full and honest accounting, but politicians, especially around election time, are never very interested in such matters. “It is in the past…. Let’s look forward!”. They would rather it all just quietly go away and be forgotten, but we deserve better than that, and those responsible need to be held accountable. But if it is up to them to investigate and report what happened, how likely is that?As a long-time resident, taxpayer and voter, I think we deserve an honest and full accounting of what exactly happened and who made these decisions, so that we will never again be faced with such a terrible outcome. Think of what we could have done with all that money. Many people, myself included, warned at the time that this was a terribly mismanaged process that would end up as an expensive failure, but those in power in Hillsborough paid no heed. Are those still in power or running again for office willing to admit their error? Will those still in office who were responsible accept their responsibility and resign or at least publicly admit their roles? I doubt it, but we can speak with our votes. I want a full and public accounting. We deserve it, but we will not get it unless we demand it.
Scott Madry, Ph.D.
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