Over the past several years a number of cities, counties and the state for that matter, have focused their resources and energy on building and expanding new roads to accommodate record-setting growth.
But now that we have all this new infrastructure, the cost of maintaining it is getting away from us. This Cd’A Press editorial taps into the frustration that is mounting over this issue, but the problem is not local to Coeur d’Alene. It’s regional.
Talk to any agency that deals with roads in Spokane or Kootenai counties and the story is pretty much the same: maintenance and preservation budgets for roads are simply tapped out, and there is no new revenue to address the issue. In many cases, these agencies are millions of dollars short of what they need to adequately maintain the public’s infrastructure investment.
Some rural counties in Washington state have even considered going back to gravel roads in some areas because they are cheaper to maintain. I’m not kidding here, they are seriously contemplating tearing up the asphalt from paved roads to reduce the cost of maintenance.
As the Cd’A Press stated in its editorial, at some point “the public” will need to invest more in the preservation and maintenance of the infrastructure they have already spent millions to build.
Compound that with a need for even more expansion, and the problem gets exponentially worse. As you probably already know, the governors of Idaho and Washington have vowed to propose new revenue options in the next legislative sessions, but those state-level solutions rarely address the local needs.
Local officials have spent most of this year assessing this issue and some solution are are being considered such as a countywide transportation benefit district, which would have the authority to raise vehicle registration fees by $20 per vehicle. While that won’t raise enough money to address the entire need, it will go a long way toward protecting the investments we have already made.
Question: Where do you find the money to adequately fund the preservation and maintenance of our transportation infrastructure? Also, do you support or oppose the car tab proposal?
Well I know we need more money to pay for maintenance, but I hate flat fees on vehicle regstrations for three reasons, one is I do not drive a lot so I end up subsidizing those that drive a lot each year, non residents that commute here each day would not pay the fee and flat rate fees on vehicles are NOT deductable on your income tax where a fee based on the value of your car would be deductable on your income tax. I know we voted down vehicle excise tax, but it was a good way to raise money and still be deductable.
I am with you on this one, Charles. But there is a problem in that local governements are only given specific taxing authorities. That limits our ability to do something that would put the proper proportionate burden on the direct users of the system.