[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

Dane County residents will not see a Regional Transit Authority referendum on their April 1 ballot, as the Dane County Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to hold off on a referendum until the state crafts RTA legislation.

In January, Dane County Supervisor Jack Martz, District 33, proposed a resolution to include a referendum on the April election ballot, asking constituents if Dane County should establish a RTA to develop a commuter rail system funded by a 0.5 percent sales tax increase to bring in about $45 million annually.

Many supervisors opposed such a referendum at Thursday?s meeting, asking, ?How can we ask the public to vote on an RTA if the RTA does not exist??

The RTA is the brainchild of Transport 2020, a group of university, city and state officials who study future transportation in Dane County and surrounding areas. According to Transport 2020, 600,000 people will live in Dane County by year 2030. The RTA is a plan to establish an all-purpose transportation system accommodating growing population concerns in both the isthmus and the surrounding areas of the county.

County Board Chair Scott McDonell said he had a problem with the wording of Martz?s resolution.

?If my constituents asked me what the RTA does or about the sales tax, I would have to say ?I don?t know,?? he said.

Supporters of Martz?s resolution said it would benefit RTA plans to hear what constituents think about the plan.

Martz said, ?What?s wrong with people having an opportunity in their life to say, ?Do I want this or not” He said the county board has encouraging information to send an application to the federal government requesting money to conduct a study on the effects of a potential transit system, and the deadline to apply is near.

The majority of supervisors said they did not think it was right for opening the vote up to the public when even they were unsure of the details.

Supervisor Ashok Kumar, District 5, said the decision to wait for state legislation was wise.

?I think this is a democratic way of figuring out whether or not we should establish a RTA,? said Kumar, who represents the UW campus area.