Gov. Tim Kaine held the last of 20 town-hall meetings on transportation last night in Fredericksburg.
He explained to about 80 attendees the bill he introduced yesterday, which would increase transportation funding about $1.1 billion by raising the sales tax on cars, the grantor's tax on home sales and the vehicle registration fee.
Kaine has been pushing for lawmakers to increase revenues for statewide road maintenance in the special session that starts Monday.
A combination of increasing costs for road maintenance and decreasing revenues into the maintenance fund mean that the state is dipping more and more deeply into the road construction budget to pay for maintenance, and that within a few years the construction budget could be eaten up by maintenance needs.
At the end of Kaine's presentation at the Jepson Executive Alumni Center at the University of Mary Washington, the crowd peppered him with questions about taxes, local funding and safety.
Fredericksburg City Councilman Matt Kelly told Kaine the region has the same congestion as Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, but it does not have a transportation authority allowing it to raise money for regional projects.
"We've got a lot of needs here, and we are not getting anywhere near to the funding necessary," Kelly said.
A transportation authority or regional plan would be possible in the Fredericksburg area if local elected officials supported it, local state legislators supported it and the Virginia General Assembly approved it, Kaine said. If his transportation package is approved, "I think the precedent would be established," he said.
R. Michael Mohler, president of Virginia Professional Firefighters, said the public's health is risked when emergency vehicles are rerouted due to traffic or outmoded structures.
"Bridges will not accommodate these large firetrucks," Mohler said, adding that he supports Kaine's transportation plan.
Dick Peacock of Manassas asked Kaine why he didn't raise money for roads by adding a tax on alcoholic beverages or hotel rooms.
"The tourists who come here need to pay for the infrastructure they use," Peacock said.
Kaine said he considered adding a tax on alcohol, but decided against it. The categories of drinking and driving did not sit well together, he said, and he was uncomfortable basing transportation funding on the volume of alcoholic sales.
TITLING TAX
Proposal: Boost the sales tax paid on car purchases from 3 percent to 4 percent. Half of the increase would take effect in January 2009, and half would take effect in July 2009.
Scope: statewide
Purpose: fund upkeep and repairs to about 58,000 miles of state-maintained highways
Yield: $172 million next year, $212 million per year by 2014
Your cost: Fully phased in, it would add $200 to the purchase of a $20,000 automobile.
GRANTOR'S TAX
Proposal: Increase the tax paid by people selling homes from 10 cents per $100 of the transaction to 25 cents per $100.
Scope: statewide
Purpose: mostly funding for rail and mass-transit projects
Yield: $142 million next year, $155 million per year by 2014
Your cost: Seller would pay an additional $500 at closing on the sale of a $200,000 home.
SALES TAX
Proposal: Boost the tax rate on all retail sales except groceries and medicines in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Scope: Hampton Roads and Washington's Virginia suburbs
Purpose: In Northern Virginia, it would fund new highway projects and expand the Metro transit system and the Virginia Railway Express commuter system; in Hampton Roads, it would fund seven priority projects, including expanding the region's primary choke point, the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.
Yield: in Northern Virginia, $306 million next year and $414 million per year by 2014; in Hampton Roads, $168 million next year, $227 million per year by 2014
Your cost: an additional $32 on a 52-inch high-definition flat-screen TV that sells for $3,200
REGISTRATION FEE
Proposal: Increase by $10 the yearly fee to register a personal motor vehicle in Virginia.
Scope: statewide
Purpose: highway maintenance funding
Yield: $70 million this year, $73 million per year by 2014
Your cost: Vehicle registration at DMV would increase from $39.50 to $49.50.
What can 30 million a year buy?(posted by
larryg
, June 21, 2008 11:01 am)
A four-lane road with divided median can cost 10 million a mile on suburban land.
A new interchange on I-95 can cost 60 - 100 million dollars
a mile of rural 2-lane can cost 500K to a million a mile and more.
30 million is not chump change but 30 million will not transform the Fredericksburg Area into congestion-free nirvana by any stretch of the imagination..
Our "solutions" are going to be slow even if we are very frugal about spending...for the right things..
It took us 30 years to create this mess
I-95 WILL be TOLLED - and the tolls will be high at rush hour.
What exactly should be done at VDOT? Kaine has already instituted some major changes at VDOT and Land Use.
Prioritize and Build only when needed - I totally AGREE
FAMPO is currently working on just that - a prioritization process for proposed transportation projects.
re: give Fredericksburg the same taxing deal as NoVa.
If our area were granted a 1% sales tax for transportation (the NoVa Deal) - it would probably net maybe 30 million a year
Tax hiking Kaine only hits VA residents(posted by
WeimCity
, June 20, 2008 7:34 pm)
Anything toward fixing transportation should be equitably shared with the millions of non-residents traveling on Virginia highways and roads. Kaine's approach affects mainly on VA residents and businesses. This is unfair. What about turning I-95 into a Turnpike/Tolls as it is north of VA? What about fixing dysfunctional VDOT? What about using a gas tax increase? What about just using the money VA akready collects? Prioritize and build only when needed - fix what VA has already? I do detset tax hikes.
yest - that dreaded 512 char limit(posted by
larryg
, June 20, 2008 6:52 pm)
My only response is that if Regional leaders want "more" - money from area citizens for more roads - that they will have to be sold on the idea as an essential bargain.
I think that going to the GA for more authority to levy more taxes - without that bargain with voters - is risky business.
Most folks do not know what a FAMPO is - much less it's very important role.... and ... the terrible funding dilemma that they are struggling with but citizens are rightly wary of vague proposals.
A Response-In 512 Characters or Less(posted by
MattKelly
, June 20, 2008 5:15 pm)
More money going into a flawed process solves nothing. And as you also know current funding will not meet our needs. We not only need to agree on a regional transportation plan but also have more authority to secure funding as well as design and build roads. A transportation authority can be build around the MPO and provide the forum for regional discussions but also allow localities to share the necessary resources and expertise.
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