The T-SPLOST supporters never lost a beat. These folks include most elected politicians,
the Chambers of Commerce, the CIDs, the Regional Commissions, the land
speculators, the developers and the ‘preferred’ consultants, law firms and
contractors and the major corporations who are an “easy touch” for economically
unsustainable future planning.
The latest effort by politicians and cronies is the
“committee” in search of $74 billion in new taxpayer funding for our
“transportation” needs for the next 2 decades.
They dug up the 2007 Washington DC consultant’s report that projects a
population increase of 45% from 9.4 million to 13.6 million. All population projections should be removed
from planning documents when current economic fundamentals don’t support the
projection.
Source: georgiareportoct2007
The 2012 T-SPLOST was a 10 year, $18 billion sales tax
grab. The project list in Region 3 was
$8 billion and was evenly split between underutilized public transit and over-utilized
roads. It also had bike lanes, “economic development” projects and unnecessary
fluff and didn’t make a dent in road congestion. If the new “brain-trust” sticks with the
georgiareportoct2007 list, we will see highways, roads and bridges all across
Georgia. It begs the question why roads
and bridges are not the responsibility of the counties and cities in which they
reside. If the port and interstate
highways truly belong to the States to maintain and expand, the $2 billion a
year in gas tax and auto sales tax revenue should be compared to the $74
billion divided by 20 years or $3.7 billion a year. That would require an additional $1.7 billion
in revenue and our 29.4 cents per gallon gasoline tax could go to 54.4 cents
per gallon.
Most States have avoided raising gasoline taxes, because
the price of oil has remained around $100 per barrel, translating into gas
prices still approaching $4 per gallon. Because
this is the price that begins to shut down economic activity, it’s a good idea
not to go there. If the $552 million for the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas
tax revenue goes away, we would need to add that to the mix.
If rural roads and highways get less use and are in
better shape than interstate highways and metro areas, maintenance there might
be stretched out. If rural counties
still get their road allocation based on lane-miles regardless of the road
type, this should be changed to reflect actual maintenance cost by road
type. Gasoline tax revenue should not be
used for fluff, bike lanes, walking trails, streetscapes or “economic
development”.
I would trim off $1billion from the $3.7 billion and go
for a 36 cent gasoline tax and make it illegal to use for anything but roads
and bridges…no streetscapes, no street lights, no parks and especially no
“economic development” projects. A
Georgia 6.6 cent gas tax increase should disappear as the U.S. drills more oil
and brings oil prices down to $80/bl. Georgia should also call for the end of
the federal gasoline tax and the closure of the U.S Department of
Transportation. The State should fund the harbor project separately.
We want no part of HOV lanes, HOT lanes, BRT lanes or
MARTA expansion. I think all bus service
should be private with no tax subsidies.
I think MARTA is the creature of DeKalb and Fulton and these counties
can keep it running, but not expanding.
Over time, the MARTA trains should be planned to become self-supporting.
Sidewalks and bike lanes should be left to the cities. There is enough waste in city and county
operations to squeeze out and allow more funds for roads and storm sewer
maintenance.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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