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Let's
Make a Budget Deal
The
General Assembly can make big improvements to the
transportation budget even without a special
session and new taxes. Here are some ideas to get
budget negotiators started.
A
modern, well-planned transportation system is
critical to the continued economic well-being of
our state, but a state budget to fund such a
system remains elusive. State tax and fee
increases proposed by the Senate and the Governor
are the sticking points.
Unlike
two years ago, our state is in a healthy financial
position, our credit rating is not threatened and
we are blessed with large budget surpluses. And,
unlike two years ago, the Senate is beginning to
be blamed at the local level for the stalemate
because it refuses to pass a budget and tackle
transportation in a Special Session this fall –
a reasonable idea in the minds of many
folks.
A
budget compromise can be crafted that makes sense,
allows state and local governments to move forward
and lets both sides of the current stand-off move
back from the brink of government gridlock.
Here
are some ideas for transportation budget
“deal.”
The
legislature should look at the “crisis points”
of transportation when it crafts the budget. That
means attacking congestion in the most efficient
way possible and renewing deteriorating economic
assets such as I-81 as soon as possible. Our
budget should address the crisis, not use the
crisis as an excuse to spread monies across the
landscape.
General
Assembly leaders can take the House Plan as the
starting point. Add to this the Transportation
Authorities for Northern Virginia and Hampton
Roads with taxing authority based on approval
through local referenda. With all monies
remaining locally, voters will have the
opportunity to solve their own transportation
problems. My bet is that a well-thought out
campaign using creative transportation
alternatives will be a winner at the polls. Any
tax increases not tied to paying off bonds could
“sunset” in ten years and then the voters
could decide whether their regional Transportation
Authority used their monies well enough to warrant
another 10-year extension.
The
state budget needs to confront road maintenance
head on. History shows that contracting
maintenance to the private sector saves
substantial amounts of money. A four-year plan to
contract out maintenance for at least 80 percent
of all our interstate highways and primary roads
and at least 50 percent of our secondary roads
would save hundreds of millions of dollars each
year. These savings, “new monies” that would
not otherwise be available, should be factored
into the long-term transportation plan to tackle
the large maintenance backlog we face.
Private
transportation companies need to be brought to the
table to discuss what projects, if any, are they
interested in investing private funds. Private
companies would be willing to invest tens of
billions of dollars of investment in Virginia's
transportation network in the right circumstances.
Our elected leaders should compare public private
partnerships to state-only projects and publicly
reveal the reasoning behind their decisions to use
one or the other.
Current
proposals for improving I-81 need to be quickly
analyzed, and the state needs to make a final
decision in order to get this upgrade of one of
our major economic corridors moving forward. The
state should be required to make decisions on
improvements such as I-81 more quickly than in the
past. Bringing these major private investments to
the state can dramatically improve our
transportation system without raising taxes. And
that seems to a win-win for everyone.
It
should be state policy, where practical, to
promote joint ventures through this year’s
budget. If a third crossing in Virginia Beach is
too expensive for a “pure” private toll road,
as some have suggested, then the state or a
Regional Transportation Authority could
participate with public funds. If the public took
a 50-percent stake in the project, private capital
requirements -- and tolls -- could be cut in half.
The
final state budget document also should put
Virginia's congressional delegation on notice that
federal transportation dollars should be used only
for mega-projects around Virginia. The U.S. House
Transportation Committee has said federal
involvement in transportation projects adds 30
percent to 40 percent to overall costs. It is
mismanagement to parcel out these federal dollars
to projects throughout the state. Federal dollars
should focus only on major projects such as the
Third Crossing in Virginia Beach, expanding
Interstate 66 inside and outside the Beltway, and
improving 64 from Richmond to Virginia Beach. That
way, state and local transportation dollars, which
have fewer costly regulatory encumbrances, would
stretch farther. A top priority in the budget
negotiations should be to devise a more efficient
mix of funding sources.
Our
elected leaders can “make a deal” and get our
budget finalized. A creative transportation
program that focuses on the “crisis points”
and uses the ideas outline above can have a huge
impact on our commuters and our economy. If, after
these actions are taken and the budget is
finalized, more needs to be considered, then a
Special Session in the fall will allow even more
ideas to be considered. That’s not a bad way to
handle this year’s budget.
--
May 1, 2006
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