I almost feel bad for the TransLink apologists – it’s all falling apart for them. Dozens of waste stories, TransLink’s terrible (but well-earned) reputation, a out-of-touch spending plan, and the demand for taxpayers to shell out billions more to TransLink.

Just kidding. I don’t feel bad for TransLink one bit. They made this mess – and it’s getting worse.

In today’s 24 Hours newspaper, one of TransLink’s highly-paid executives, Bob Paddon (salary: $311,844 – including a $17,507 bonus) admits the cost estimates used by TransLink mayors for their $7.5 billion plan are flawed and out-of-date. But taxpayers won’t get updated numbers before they vote next spring:

TransLink earlier provided estimates that the Broadway subway line would cost $1.98 billion with yearly operating costs of $22.3 million, and a $2.14 billion cost for LRT in Surrey, with $23.2 million in operating costs per year.

But those figures could change — and a new number likely won’t be available before the referendum, according to TransLink.

“It’s going to take at least half a year probably for the consultants to be able to complete the work. I just don’t think we’ll have this work completed prior to the conclusion of the referendum,” TransLink vice-president Bob Paddon said.“If it can move faster, we’ll move faster.”

In other words, just give us the blank cheque in the next referendum and trust us. But have you ever heard of a government project that went down in cost? And what precisely has TransLink delivered in the past 15 years that would make anyone - except the most blind apologists - trust them?

Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Todd Stone has told the mayors (and Black Press) that they need to scale back their $7.5 billion plan – and the hundreds of millions in tax grabs the TransLink mayors are frothing for:

And while he is prepared to approve a new TransLink tax subject to a spring referendum, he won't sign off on the extra $300 million a year the mayors want, calling it unaffordable.

That leaves the mayors with a difficult choice – chop projects out of their vision and risk rupturing their consensus; extend the timeline from 10 to 15 years; or raise property taxes, which can be done without a referendum.

"One of the key principles to government is the challenge of affordability," Stone said in an interview. "We want to do everything we possibly can to set this referendum up for success."

He said there will be a new revenue source allowed by the province, conditional on referendum approval, but added it will have to be "far less than the $300 million they want."

Stone would not say exactly how much in new tax money he would approve if not $300 million a year, but said mayors could raise property taxes to make up the gap.

"If they want to stick to their original plan they'll have to make up the difference with existing levers, and the lever that affords them the most flexibility obviously is the property tax."

Precisely, Minister. This tax grab is unaffordable and everyone seems to see it – except TransLink, its apologists, and its mayors.