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I
do not claim to be an expert on the Virginia
Department of Transportation (VDOT), nor even the
Commonwealth’s transportation system in general.
During my four years in Virginia's
Commerce Secretariat, though, I did deal with a
series of issues involving transportation. Acting as a quasi-official ombudsman on
behalf of business, I dealt with issues such as
road construction for new industrial facilities,
interstate signage for tourist destinations and
the like. I
also worked closely with VDOT as chairman of
former Gov. Jim Gilmore’s Visitor Center Task
Force, which came up with a plan to overhaul the
Commonwealth’s welcome centers and rest areas. That task force accomplished much, but
there is still a lot of work required to bring the
Commonwealth’s visitor facilities up to the
level commensurate with our position as a
preeminent travel destination.
With
this background, I have watched with interest the
ongoing debate surrounding the November referenda
to increase the sales tax for transportation
projects in
Northern
Virginia
and Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads voters are being asked to
approve a one-cent sales tax hike to fund six
major transportation projects, including the much
needed third crossing. Northern
Virginia
voters are being asked to support a half-cent
sales tax increase to pay
for road and transit
projects in the region.
VDOT
is a much maligned agency – some of the scorn
being deserved, most of it undeserved. The vast majority of the Commonwealth’s
transportation system is excellent. Having emigrated to
Virginia
from New
York City
10 years ago, I have first-hand knowledge of how
bad roads actually can be and what a real traffic
jam is like. VDOT
employees and contractors work round the clock to
build and maintain our highways. There are miles upon miles of well-paved
and engineered roads, all the way from Virginia
Beach to the coalfields.
When faced with an emergency situation --
caused by hurricanes, snowstorms or even the
attack on the
Pentagon VDOT has done an
outstanding job of keeping the roads clear and
making emergency repairs.
However,
despite what is on balance a very good record,
there are serious transportation needs in the
Commonwealth that need to be addressed. Anyone who has ever tried to get across the
Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel on a summer weekend or
make a 9
a.m.
meeting inside the Beltway also understands what
real traffic jams are like. Frustration over the
transportation systems in both Northern Virginia
and Hampton Roads has boiled over in both regions.
I empathize with local officials and business
leaders supporting the tax increase: Revenues from
a sales-tax hike would jump-start a number of
important projects which, according to the current
budget and VDOT planning process, would otherwise
take years to fund.
But
frustration over the transportation system is not
limited to Hampton Roads and
Northern
Virginia.
There are important transportation needs in other
regions of the Commonwealth. Examples that come quickly to mind include
far Southwest Virginia which needs better roads
to attract
more industrial projects, and Interstate 81 which
is jammed with tractor-trailers. Moreover, Southside, which
also needs economic
help, has a series of projects that need
completion, including bypasses on U.S. 58 and U.S.
29. (As an aside, I have always been chagrined
when driving in the area of the North Carolina
border in Southside where the roads dramatically
change for the better when you cross the border
into N.C.). It
could be argued that increased funding for Hampton
Roads and Northern Virginia
further widens the gap between those prosperous
regions,
which can afford a tax increase, and those in the Commonwealth that are in
deep economic disstress.
Given
the backlog of projects across the state, combined
with high-profile overruns on some mega-projects
like the Springfield
“mixing bowl,” it’s understandable that VDOT-bashing
has become such a popular sport. Just last month, a report released by the
state auditor, prepared at the request of Gov.
Mark R. Warner listed 62 recommendations to improve VDOT.
Meanwhile,
the governor has dumped most of the Commonwealth
Transportation Board and installed a new VDOT
Commissioner who has begun to reorganize the
department. The challenge for the tax boosters is
to make voters understand why, in the midst of all
this activity, they should send more money to VDOT
and our road-building program. Asking voters to
spend more money on roads now is a bit like asking Enron
stockholders to double their stock holdings to get
the company through the current downturn. Before
deciding that new taxes are warranted, tax
opponents will say, it makes sense to take the
corrective actions based on the audit, let the
re-organization take hold and allow the new CTB to
set a clear policy.
There
are high-altitude issue as well. Exactly what
level of spending for state services in general,
and transportation in particular, is adequate? The state budget has grown significantly
over the past decade as the Commonwealth has
experienced rapid growth. Is it unreasonable to suggest that state
spending be better understood and controlled
before taxes are raised, whether in the upcoming
sales tax referenda or through Gov. Warner’s
recent suggestion that we should increase tobacco
taxes. This is particularly true when
top-to-bottom reviews of state government activity
and the state tax structure are underway. Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder’s
Commission on Efficiency and Effectiveness is
undertaking an examination of “state government
to see how effectively it serves Virginia
citizens and how efficiently it provides them with
those needed services.” Simultaneously, a Joint
Subcommittee of the General Assembly is in the
middle of a complete examination of the tax code,
including the “necessity and sufficiency of
current taxes, fees, deductions and credits as
well as the rates of taxation.”
A
piecemeal approach has caused many of the problems
with transportation planning in
particular, and the overall budget in general. These two reviews promise a comprehensive
approach to very difficult issues. Until this work
is complete and the leaders of the Commonwealth
can assure us that government is operating with
maximum equity and efficiency, increased taxes
should be the solution of last resort.
--
August 12, 2002
Joshua
N. Lief, a Secretary of Commerce and Trade during
the Gilmore administration, is an attorney at
Sands Anderson Marks & Miller in Richmond. He
can be reached by e-mail at jlief@sandsanderson.com
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