Less than a month before Mecklenburg voters will check “yes” or “no” on a 1-cent sales tax referendum, community members at the Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum were about evenly split on whether they supported the tax hike.

If voters approve, Mecklenburg’s sales tax would increase to 8.25% from 7.25%, generating $19 billion in revenue for local transit projects over a 30-year period.

The PAVE Act mandates that 60% of the money raised be spent on mass transit (essentially, trains and buses) and 40% be spent on road projects, which could include sidewalks and bike lanes. At a forum on the same topic earlier this year, former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx threw his support behind the transit plan.

Foxx, who also served as transportation secretary under President Barack Obama, called the Meckl

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