(The Center Square) – Charlotte taxpayers are spending a minimum of $3.4 million and possibly more for a Washington public relations firm’s aim of “enhancing the public’s perception and use of public transit in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.”

Nine Democrats and two Republicans on the City Council delivered a unanimous vote to climax the Sept. 11 issuance of request for proposals. That was six days after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released video footage of the Aug. 22 stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a light rail train, a video that went viral and led to foundational change through new state law named for the victim.