Last year HB 3202 made the Hampton Roads Transit Authority (HRTA) a political sub-division of the Commonwealth. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that this new Regional Government was un-constitutional. This year some Republicans want to make the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization the new Regional Government.
HB 6055 provides a shell fund and the “Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for new transportation construction projects in the Counties of Isle of Wight, James City, and York and the Cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg, as required by law; and then as determined by the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization.” Some counties along the route of the 460 corridor are MISSING).
Let’s pretend that taxation without representation is no problem, so an HRTA or MPO Regional Government is the solution for transportation. Since almost all the same politicians and bureaucrats are appointed to the HR MPO, HRPDC and HRTA, it’s safe to assume that the planning for the big day to rule has been working since their first failed ballot initiative in 1998.
In the first year of operation (this year), the HRTA was supposed to get about $120 million in new and higher local taxes. Let’s see the Master Plan in a detailed schedule of what was to be done from Day One. Put it up on the web. Show The People the coordinating document – called a ‘horse blanket’ for Army projects. Put it up on the web.
Oh, the HRTA/MPO doesn’t have those details? Okay. How about the plan for just the first year? That would mean now – if they hadn’t been ruled un-Constitutional. Put that plan up on the web.
Let’s see the systems engineering ‘waterfall’ project schedule. Where is the complex work breakdown schedule?
What jobs are created? How much do they pay? What are the job specifications? What is the process to get hired? When is each job to be filled? Surely all of this is planned for the first year. Let’s see it up on the web.
Same for contracts. What contracts, for how much, to do what, when, with what consultants for the first year?
None of this above is a state secret. It’s a good show and tell for the good governance stewardship of public money. It’s establishing the public trust that the Regional Government isn’t the scam for power and money for local pols that it smells like.
I’ve worked on government contracts for almost 20 years. Whether the project is in the $10s of thousands or billions of dollars, contractors do a show and tell to account for every hour of labor and penny spent. Why do we expect less from a Regional Government spending even more money? (2002 estimate was $18b, but it is more like $30-35b with the HRBT and inflation).
Why is it okay for the politicians on the Regional Government to just make it all up as they go along? The challenge of building transportation projects is engineering and management – not representation or politicking.
The HRTA/MPO should show The People how much executive, management and engineering skill they possess – now. They’ve been planning since 1997. Put it up on the web.
Show us how many trucks a day will go from the Port of Virginia to I-64 in the middle of Hampton.
Show us how the MPO doesn’t cover the full 460 corridor to connect with I-95.
Show us the estimate, again, on how many MORE miles of congestion we have with all your projects.
Show us your plan for the HRBT (the biggest congestion problem) – since you never had one before – and where it is in the priority to build.
Some Republicans in the General Assembly are betting the future of their Party on your readiness for good governance. Show and tell now. Put it all up on the web.
