The last two sentences of that article is important;
"Cap Metro will take public input on its recommendation during the next two months. In May, the transit authority’s board and the City Council are set to finalize plans on financing the system."
What we have today is the best scenario transit plan that the plan's proponents believe Austin can afford. After the public deniers balk at how much it will cost, which will all be academic because the real costs will be unknown, only then will they finalize plans on financing this new plan. They are following too much the Honolulu scenario funding a rail system; i.e. promising too much then taxing too much because costs skyrocketed. That's why the cost estimation to date lies between $4 to $9 Billion. That is not how Austin should proceed, imho.
They should follow how Houston and Dallas have implemented light rail instead. Fully fund a transit agency with a penny sales tax, give that agency the ability to sell bonds, and let it build what it can with its own money and with any federal grants it can get. Keep the state, city, and county finances out of the mix. That way, when cost overruns happens, the transit agency alone must cope with it. Either it must sell more bonds or slow the pace of construction. No big daddy (other governments) to come to its rescue with a further round of increase in taxes.
CapMetro should fund any transit plans it dreams up without seeking financial aid from other governments not equipped to do so today. Which means the only funding partner they should have is the FTA, and specifically its "New Starts" program.