Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on transportation and budget:
Hillsborough commissioners want plan for roads
By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 10, 2011
TAMPA —
Despite limited money, Hillsborough County commissioners want more transportation projects underway to create jobs and show constituents the county is working to clear jammed roads.
Commissioners voted Thursday to have county administrators contact planners at other agencies in order to draw up a coordinated plan to expedite transportation projects.
“We need to look at this as a strategic objective that we plan for,” said Commissioner Sandy Murman.
Murman started the conversation at a budget workshop where administrators were explaining how they prioritize transportation projects when revenues are plummeting. The county is deferring $76 million in scheduled road work until 2014 because of the continuing decline in the Community Investment Tax, a half-cent sales tax.
Despite the shortfall, County Administrator Mike Merrill has recommended budgeting $32.8 million for road projects in fiscal 2012 and about $56 million in fiscal 2013.
How that money is spent, and how quickly projects can get underway is crucial to the local economy and to residents stuck in traffic jams, Murman said. She said the issue is so important, the county should assign one person to deal only with transportation. No such position now exists.
“The county staff needs to be involved in this at the get-go in some kind of leadership roll,” Murman said. “We’ve got the dollars and the public works department.”
The suggestion spurred a conversation on the importance of transportation and the need to coordinate efforts now fragmented among numerous agencies, most of which do not answer directly to the commission.
Commissioner Mark Sharpe suggested resurrecting a list of road projects recommended by the county’s Transportation Task Force, a group that studied transportation needs from 2006-09. The task force recommended a 1 cent sales tax increase to pay for the road projects as well as a light-rail system. Voters rejected the sales tax last November.
Commissioners finally decided to have county administrators talk initially with directors of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the City-County Planning Commission about coordinating a plan to identify the most crucial road projects. Other agencies could be brought in later, Sharpe said.
msalinero@tampatrib.com (813) 259-8303