As road fund shrinks, need for gas tax grows

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published August 19, 2007

To meet its budget-cutting goals for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the Hernando County Commission has lopped $750,000 from $2-million it normally takes from property tax revenue and contributes to the residential road management program. That move may have meant the difference between some county employees being laid off or cutting some services to residents.

But the next fiscal year, especially if the so-called "super" homestead exemption is approved by referendum vote in January, three-quarters of a million dollars will be a scratch compared with the deep gash that could be left in the county's general revenue fund. Even if commissioners took the whole $2-million they usually allocate, then added it to the taxes they collect for the transportation trust fund and to the 3 cents they receive on every gallon of gasoline sold, it still won't be enough to keep pace with the need to build and repair roads, according to County Engineer and Department of Public Works Director Charles Mixson.

Consider that there are more roads than when the residential road repair program began in 1999, that some of the roads repaired since then soon will need maintenance again, and the rising cost of materials to recondition or repave the neighborhood streets, and it is clear to see this effort will require more money, not less.

That is why it is more important than ever that once the commissioners have set this year's budget, they revisit a proposal they squandered in June to raise the gas tax an additional 3 cents, as allowed under state law. With virtually no chance that voters would approve an increase in the sales tax, it appears a boost in the gas tax is the only viable alternative to establishing a dedicated funding source for roads.

Last week, the commission amended the law it passed eight years ago that required a $2-million allocation from the general fund specifically for repairing residential roads, eliminating a specific amount. In addition, the ordinance now allows the commission to spend the undetermined funds on any road project, not just residential ones.

Tuesday's 3-2 vote (with Commissioners Chris Kingsley and Diane Rowden dissenting) sets the stage for falling far behind in the road maintenance program, effectively wasting the millions of dollars that have been invested so far. Mixson warned the commission last year that without additional funding, in 10 years the roads will be in the same disrepair they were in 1999.

Unless the commission gets serious about creating a fixed revenue stream via the additional gas tax, that is a very real possibility, and one that will have a negative effect on Hernando County's economy and public safety. The commission should deal with the issue by the end of this year, rather than letting it become a political lightning rod in the 2008 election.

[Last modified August 18, 2007, 20:23:50]