Mecklenburg County Commissioners voted to move forward with a plan to create a sales tax to help fund the Red Line rail. The Red Line would stretch from Uptown to Lake Norman. In a 6-3 vote, commissioners voted to move forward with asking the state legislature for the authority to create a ballot referendum which would allow voters to decide if they want to pay a one-cent sales tax to support transit and infrastructure projects. The vote from county commissioners is the furthest a plan for a Red Line has ever made it after decades of discussion among city and county leaders. Charlotte city leaders bought the tracks and the land for the Red Line for $91 million dollars earlier this month. City council also voted in favor of letting voters decide on a tax increase that would help support rails and other infrastructure. Matthews is the only municipality that voted against the transit sales tax because the current plan does not include rail service to Matthews. The majority of mayors stood together Tuesday calling for commissioners to support the sales tax increase plan hoping the new rail would ease traffic congestion and increase safety. “The Red Line was a promise and aspiration decades ago,” Mayor Rusty Knox from Davidson said. “It offered a way to navigate through this more. We have seen firsthand the success of the Blue and Gold line.” At one point, commissioners asked to delay the vote to give them more time to talk to municipalities before making a decision. “I do not like how it’s being pushed,” Pat Cotham, Commissioner-at large said. “We have to do it now, we get nothing now, that doesn’t make sense to me.” Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio emphasized the importance of moving forward to stay within the time frame that leaders have planned to be able to ask the state legislature for the authority to move forward with a referendum. The vote to delay the sales tax vote failed 6-3. The vote to move forward means the legislature will now decide if voters should choose whether to pay a one cent sales tax. Officials estimate the sales tax would generate more than a billion dollars in revenue for transportation in five years. Officials say the plan is to continue collecting data and feedback from residents before crafting a final transit plan. The vote from commissioners clears the way for officials to continue working on the Red Line. Officials hope to get the sales tax referendum on the ballot by November of 2025.