Even
though the budget battle is behind us, the hope
that we’d be able to shift our energies to
making the Commonwealth a better place to live is
quickly eroding. With each passing day a
“special session” looms over us like an
ominous presence — reminding us of just how far
apart the Senate and Governor are with the House.
However,
the special session gives legislators a unique
opportunity to focus on only one issue and drill
down into a level of debate and discussion that
isn’t possible during a regular legislative
session. Such an effort can prove to be extremely
valuable, especially if some agreement or
understanding is reached.
There
is little question that the way we finance
transportation in this country is shifting. A new
financing paradigm is rapidly emerging, and being
embraced, around the country — an ever
increasing role for the private sector and private
capital. This represents a dramatic departure from
traditional financing and thinking. The way it’s
always been done is no longer the model.
Sadly,
the Senate and the Governor have not yet fully
embraced this new paradigm. Rather, they seem
stuck in traditional thinking and traditional
approaches. Indeed, the latest budget battle
reminded me of the old story about King Croesus.
Turns out the king lived in the Valley of Midas,
stocked full of gold; Croesus was the richest man
in the world. Naturally Croesus could buy anything
he wanted — he had the resources to throw as
much money at a problem as was warranted.
The
traditional financing model falls into the Croesus
trap of thinking that spending more money is the
answer to our woes. Throwing endless amounts of
money at a problem won’t solve the problem if
the system is broken. Unfortunately, the taxpayers
of the worse is that the Commonwealth are not as
rich as Croesus. Our families have constraints and
competing interests and we must make the same
demands that our elected officials abide by those
same constraints.
Recent
surveys of the public clearly indicate that the
voters of Virginia are not ready to accept tax
increases as the avenue to improving our
transportation/congestion problems.
To
cost-effectively improve transportation throughout
the Commonwealth, we must seek innovative
alternatives to use our limited resources. To that
end, progress has been made. VDOT has made great
strides to improve efficiency, rooting out waste
and enhancing services. Recent legislation that
will contract out interstate maintenance will save
more dollars and likely improve the overall
condition of the roads as well. In addition,
amendments to the Public- Private Transportation
Act should streamline the process of getting
projects completed faster.
With
that said, reform needs to be a constant effort at
process improvement. We cannot rest on our
laurels. Every state employee should be challenged
to think of new and innovative solutions — and
be empowered to implement them. We’ve gotten
good at asking “why”: Why do we do things this
way or that. What we need to starting asking is
“why not.” Why not try this or why not try
that.
This
rings especially true with transportation
financing. Ask your elected official why we
finance roads the way we do. The answer, we’ve
always done it that way. And why don’t we seek
alternatives? Because it’s a new model one that
we’re perhaps not as comfortable with.
We
can learn a lot from states like Indiana and
Texas, where the new financing paradigm is in full
effect. Texas has embarked on a massive
construction effort largely financed with private
capital. An innovative lease concession in Indiana
will fully finance the state’s 10-year
transportation plan. Both are achieved without new
taxes.
This
past weekend, the National Governors Association
met in South Carolina. We can only hope that Gov.
Kaine met with and learned from Gov. Perry of
Texas and Daniels of Indiana and brings their
vision, their leadership, and their ideas back to
the Commonwealth.
It’s
true that change takes time. Sustainable change
requires a shift in management philosophy and
leadership. The philosopher Schopenhauer once
observed that “all great ideas go through three
stages. In the first stage they are ridiculed. In
the second stage, they are strongly opposed. And
in the third stage they are considered to be
self-evident.”
I
believe that the new transportation financing
paradigm in the Commonwealth is somewhere between
stages one and two. With some hard work and luck
stage three will be right around the corner.
--
August 7, 2006
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