OUR VIEW: Road rush

Anne B. has asked, and we’re going to answer.
In an e-mail sent on Friday, the 6th District House of Delegates member wants to know what her constituents think about proposals to fix Virginia’s transportation “crisis” – whatever that might be.
The Wytheville Republican said she wants the input before legislators return to Richmond July 9 to consider transportation measures, all of which would raise taxes and fees to generate more revenue.
For example, Gov. Tim Kaine’s proposal calls for increases in the vehicle registration fee, the auto sales tax, the grantor’s tax paid by sellers of property, and regional sales-tax increases in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch article.
Another Democrat, Northern Virginia Sen. Richard Saslaw wants to raise the motor fuel tax.
Let’s apply the brakes for a moment.
In the e-mail seeking direction from the residents she represents, Anne B. Crockett-Stark points out that transportation revenues are already on the increase.
“In fact, when I was elected three years ago, there were $4.5 billion dollars of total revenue available for transportation,” she wrote in her e-mail. “During my first biennium, it grew to $8 billion. This biennium, that total stands at $10 billion, even with the slowdown in economic growth.”
As Democrats call for taxes, taxes and more taxes, some Republicans want the state to get its priorities straight.
Attorney General and would-be governor’s candidate Bob McDonnell has joined House Republicans in calling for an external audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation, according to a Times-Dispatch article. The first phase of the audit would analyze maintenance operations to determine the size of the funding shortfall and the reasons for it, McDonnell wrote in a June 23 column in The Times-Dispatch.
The audit would address the size and organization of VDOT as well as what projects and investments could relieve congestion, the article said. It also would focus on future needs, innovation and modernization, he wrote.
Furthermore, McDonnell said he is concerned about the growth of state spending.
“I think the key is setting transportation as a priority, cutting spending in certain areas, auditing VDOT” and “making sure that we make transportation a priority in the operating budget of Virginia,“ McDonnell said.
McDonnell is on the right road.
The commonwealth’s leaders should slow down, prioritize spending and cut, cut, cut.
As an example, along with calling for $10 increases on vehicle registrations, Kaine also proposed $5.8 million in spending for non-state agencies in the 2008-2010 budget. This included grants for art museums and the Richmond Symphony.
So, going back to Crockett-Stark’s original question, we’d answer it with another question:
When it comes to our government-seized tax dollars, do we want them spent on paintings and piccolos or patching pot holes?

Let her know what you think:
Anne B. Crockett-Stark
Member, Virginia House of Delegates
Sixth District
Office: 276-227-0247
Fax: 276-227-0248
http://www.annebcrockett-stark.org