Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Tampa Tribune column on transportation:
JOE HENDERSON COLUMNS
Our transportation system stinks, but who wants to pay to fix it?
By Joe Henderson | Tribune Staff
Published: November 8, 2015
A Hillsborough County board just reinforced what we already know. Our transportation system stinks, and we need to make it better.
The county’s Policy Leadership Group, which includes Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, voted 11-3 the other day to recommend that a half-cent-per-dollar sales tax increase be put before voters next November. The county commission has the final say, at least until voters do. I can save us all some time. Voters will crush this plan, as currently constructed, like a daisy under Gerald McCoy’s feet.
That is, of course, unless enough people decide they’re tired of commutes that last longer, fray more nerves and never get better.
I couldn’t blame anyone for feeling like a long-term transportation solution is a hopeless case, though. Officials keep offering same ol’, same ol’ “solutions” that are doomed to fail, while opponents disregard the county’s greater needs because that costs money to fix.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman, who initially seemed to support the referendum, offered an alternative plan the other day that is straight from the tea party playbook.
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She wants to cobble together money from so-called mobility fees (we used to call them impact fees), raising the gas tax by a nickel per gallon and tapping into the county’s reserve funds. Her plan recommends earmarking 50 percent of the growth in property tax revenue each year for transportation needs.
No referendum.
There is some logic to it. Hiking the gas tax and user fees shifts the burden of paying for transportation more directly onto those who use the roads. It’s also totally righteous to demand developers pay more for the transportation problems they help create by building all those new houses.
Problem solved.
Except it wouldn’t be.
Critics say the amount of money her plan would generate was vastly over-estimated. Basically, it would pay for some bandages on a traffic mess while failing to deal with long-term reality. It wouldn’t generate enough to allow the county to issue bonds for major projects.
It’s a dodge.
I have said from the start that the county’s referendum game plan has been badly flawed. Maybe it can be salvaged in a year’s time, but I wouldn’t bet on it — unless we get more voices besides politicians and officials to speak loudly about why we need this.
That’s what is missing here.
We’ve heard about cost estimates, including a $750 million backlog of maintenance for the roads we have now. The idea of more buses has been kicked around, and maybe — in the pie-in-the-sky plan — some version of light rail.
We’ve heard we’re falling behind cities like Denver, which has a well-regarded transportation system. We’ve heard that Fortune 500 companies will pass us by for relocation if we don’t solve this problem.
But mostly, we’ve heard loud, relentless anti-tax voices who repeat one word, over and over: NO!
They don’t trust handing over that much tax money to government. They appear to believe the need in the future has been overstated.
They all but sank the “Go Hillsborough” plan with stories about a well-connected consultant’s cozy relationship with the project. They haven’t found anything illegal yet, mind you. But it looks like an inside job, and that’s never good.
Against that backdrop, commissioners will next month consider whether to go ahead with the referendum. Doing nothing is not an option, but taxpayers aren’t going to bite on this until more voices from the community speak out about why we need to do this.
We’ve heard plenty of “NO!” If there is a “YES” out there in the community, we need to hear that, too. Those are the folks who will be asked to pay for this. I’m talking about hearing from small-business owners, commuters, bus riders, students, elderly people and anyone who would benefit by an improved transportation system.
Humm.
That would be all of us, wouldn’t it?
The problem is, who wants to pay for it?
