A commuter rail running through Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee could be funded through a combination of sources, including sales taxes, if a transit group's recommendations are followed.

Early Monday morning, the Regional Transit Authority will be voting on its recommendations to Gov. Jim Doyle about funding mass transit, specifically KRM commuter rail.

The RTA - with one representative each from the cities and counties of Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee, and a representative of the governor - was established by the Legislature in 2005 to find a dedicated funding source for commuter rail and possibly other forms of mass transit. What it has come up with is not one funding source but several, which its recommendations ask the state to consider. These sources are:

n Authority for the RTA to enact a local sales tax of up to 0.5 percent to fund public transit.

n Authority for up to an additional 0.15 percent in sales tax for public service.

n Authority for a regional

payroll tax.

n Privatization of General Mitchell International Airport and diversion of any revenue to public transportation.

The RTA also suggests that it become a permanent body which would receive and distribute all transit funds including federal money. It would cover the urbanized regions of the three counties or the entire area of each county, and the governing board would be comprised of one representative from each of the three counties, one from each of the three cities (Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee), and one appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

The recommendations also suggest that the money raised in each area be devoted to transit in that area after paying the general RTA expenses. No ability to increase the tax rate would be granted to the board, the recommendations note, which means the appointed board would be responsible only for expending the money received.

That is not enough to satisfy County Executive William McReynolds.

"First, I don't support appointed bodies having taxing authority," he said after reading once through the recommendations. "I have nothing against the RTA and its members. It's just that if a body's given taxing authority, they had better be elected. They need to face the electorate on a two- or a four-year basis because I believe that's how our system has been designed."

He said he would also prefer that any board making spending decisions be based on a supermajority, not a simple majority, because that makes it more difficult for one area to gain an advantage or another to lose out. "If something's a good idea, you should be able to get a supermajority vote."

He questioned the additional 0.15 percent tax because its purpose is unspecified, but said he supports the idea of starting a transit authority area east of Interstate 94 because the benefit is clear for its residents but not for the rest of the county.

How far the RTA recommendations will go in Madison is not certain. State Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, said the governor's office has not committed to anything and there is presently a legislative study committee also examining mass transit funding.

"And that is making good progress at looking at funding sources, and a wide range of funding sources," Lehman said.

That report will probably be ready for the new Legislature in January or February, he said, but beyond that there has been no talk in the Capitol about what may or may not happen to KRM.

Lehman noted the absence of a car rental fee from the RTA recommendations. That was proposed previously to fund KRM, as was a plan for a sales tax approved by referendum; the former disappeared because of opposition, the latter didn't survive the Legislature.

Lehman said he still supports the car rental fee and sees it as more politically possible than any kind of sales tax.

"Why would I vote for another sales tax specific for transportation? It doesn't seem there's enthusiasm (for that) in the county at all, and I do not want to chop up our eastern part of Racine County, or all of Racine County, with small-option referendums," Lehman said.

"And our traditional funding sources are covering our buses. So what are we going to do in Racine and Kenosha beyond that?"