Source: City of Richmond
The condition of Richmond city roads is getting worse. Sixty-five percent of the city’s streets and roads are rated “fair to poor” or “poor or below,” Bobby Vincent, director of public works, told City Council Monday. Only 35% of streets and roads were rated “good,” according to Virginia Department of Transportation standards. That’s down from 53% as recently as 2014, reports Community Idea Stations.
Bringing roads back to standard would cost $104 million. Mayor Levar Stoney has proposed including $16.2 million more for roads and sidewalks in the upcoming budget, but the funding would come from an increase in property taxes and cigarette taxes which several city council persons openly oppose.
Allowing infrastructure to deteriorate is just a hidden form of deficit spending. That $104 million figure compares to total budget of about $710 million yearly and an annual public works capital budget of roughly $25 million. That’s quite a lot of hidden deficit spending over the years, and the figure doesn’t include spending shortfalls for other infrastructure such as school buildings, water-sewer plant, and other public facilities. Nor does it include the hidden deficits that take the form of pension under-funding.
But don’t assume Richmond is a unique basket case. Do you know your locality’s hidden deficit? Is it growing or shrinking? Is your city or county using the tax bounty of an economic expansion to reduce its maintenance backlogs? I’ll bet you have no clue.
