Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk has joined the coalition in favor of the half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 5 ballot in Hamilton County that would help pay for a $2.6 billion light rail plan and bus improvements.

        In a letter Thursday to both the board that oversees Metro, which put Issue 7 on the ballot, and the committee campaigning for the initiative, Archbishop Pilarczyk wrote that he intends “to vote in favor of it, and I encourage others to do the same.”

        Four community organizations said this week they supported the tax increase: Cincinnati Community Action Now (CAN) committee; the United Way of Greater Cincinnati; the Cincinnatus Association (a civic group) and the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP.

        Archbishop Pilarczyk's letter was brief, but in it he said he believes “this plan is very important for the future of our city and the future of our general region.”

        “The archbishop's endorsement confirms our belief that this will benefit the citizens of Hamilton County tremendously,” said Betsy Neyer, manager for the “Let's Get Moving” campaign that is pushing the tax, which would raise about $60 million a year over 30 years to cover the local portion of both the light rail system and the bus improvements.

        Chris Hedger, a member of Deer Park city council, said she was disappointed by the letter, and had requested a meeting with the archbishop to discuss it and its potential impact on churches and parochial schools near the proposed train route.

        “St. John's in Deer Park is a stone's throw from the tracks now, and as a lifelong Catholic, I am hoping he retracts the statement,” Ms. Hedger said. “He didn't meet with anyone from our side, and I tell you what, there are a lot of people in this community that are upset that he has taken such a stand.”

        The effort to defeat the tax has also gotten some support this week. The city councils in both Deer Park and Madeira voted to oppose the tax on Monday, while Anderson Township trustees voted to oppose the tax Thursday. They join several other communities including Norwood and Symmes and Sycamore townships.

        Stephan Louis, chairman of the Alternatives to Light Rail Transit committee that is campaigning against Issue 7, would not comment on the archbishop's position. But he did say that the fact that the county's community governments were lining up against the tax was a sign that it was a bad idea.

        “It's clear that cities throughout the region recognize this plan for what it is: an effort to get area taxpayers to funnel money into downtown,” Mr. Louis said.

        E-mail jpilcherenquirer.com

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