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Friday, May 23, 2008Freeways Ain't.
By Sheldon Killpack
Utah State Senator and Majority Assistant Whip For those of you who will only read the first few sentences: I did not state I support a 40 cent per gallon increase the gas tax. That was misquoted. But I do want to wake people up to the very real price tag on our transportation needs. Unless we think and act outside the box we're going to find ourselves with road problems that will be very difficult - and very expensive - to solve. Last week's story stemmed from a mis-quote of a statement I made while speaking at the Utah Taxpayers Association Conference on Tuesday, May 13. The actual statement I made was, "We have a 16.5 billion dollar shortfall in funding to build out needed transportation infrastructure (major roads and highways). If we relied only on the Gas Tax to fund the gap it would require a forty-cent tax increase in the gas tax to meet that need. However, before we turn to the tax payers for any increases we need to exhaust every possibility to fund this gap."Apparently, in reporter language, that translates into my support of either a forty-cent gas tax increase or taking the gas tax to forty cents. Either way, the quotes are inaccurate. If ever you have had the pleasure of dealing with the media it will come to you as no surprise that they sometimes get things mixed up, and then feed off their own frenzy. I have been a long-time advocate in improving our transportation system by turning first to available resources. We are faced with some sobering realities: * Between 1990 and 2007 Utah experienced a 47.5 percent increase in population growth. So what does this mean? In a word: congestion. To exacerbate the problem: * Since 2000 UDOT construction costs have increased 91 percent. In fact, recent reports show that steel has increased again by another 30 percent in the past few weeks alone. All of this equals problems with Utah's ability to get ahead of the congestion game. So what steps have we taken without raising taxes? * We looked internally for other funding options within existing budgets. We found that between 10 to 20 percent of the revenue from sales tax within the state came from auto related sales (car sales, tires, oil changes, etc). Many of us in the Legislature felt that these tax dollars should be earmarked for roads and so we pushed legislation through to capture this money. It is in place today. I did suggest we look outside the box at every tool available to us, including congestion pricing which already exists in the State in one form. Over a year ago we turned the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane into a HOT (High Occupancy Toll) lane. Individuals who wished to use the far left lane could purchase a pass and use it in times of congestion regardless of the number of individuals riding in the car. It has turned out to be a very popular program and UDOT is in the process of setting up an electronic collection system. With an electronic collection system, individuals can chose if they want to hop in a lane and pay a determined amount to bypass the congestion. I don't mind having healthy dialog to look at every tool available to us and I consider this an additional viable tool. If we simply do nothing, and stick our head in the sand we will find ourselves so far behind that it will be nearly impossible to catch up. I appreciate healthy dialog and encourage your suggestions on how to maintain a strong transportation system that is critical to our economic development in this State. Last week press ignited a tempest of angry reaction but that has started to die down. For a few days I was getting 200 to 300 pieces of fan mail in my inbox per day. Now it's down to mere dozens. For anyone who came in late, I'm referring to this. And this. And this, this, this, etc. And then there was the full Trib editorial based on a misquote. I love how they do that. We cannot avoid talking about funding possibilities including a look at the gas tax if it proves our only and best option. We will never move forward by avoiding the tough inquiries. Utah is the best managed State in the nation for a reason and it is because we aren't afraid to ask questions that create healthy discussion which ultimately lead to solid results. I'm hoping our readers will offer some solutions on the transportation funding problem. Any ideas?
posted by The Senate Site at 6:09 PM | Link
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13 Comments:
It's also common for politicians to claim they were misquoted when, after seeing their words in print, they realize how stupid they sound.
This is a well reasoned post on the transportation quandary. As I heard a recent city legislator comment, "I am amazed how much it costs for 1 mile of road."
Clearly, we have neglected transportation funding. I remember when state legislators commented that it would be political suicide to raise the gas tax $.05 or $.10. That was at a time not so long ago when gas was $1.50/gallon. People are now paying $4.00/gallon and not happy about it and it makes it even more difficult to pass an increase to the gas tax because it looks like and feels like a pile-on mentality.
Instead of increasing the funding where it makes sense as a use tax, we have to look at alternatives that are buried somewhere in general funding, etc.
There are other alternatives, but it requires personal intervention and not government intervention.
In our household, we are a one-car family. I could go buy another car, but choose not to because I take advantage of other modes of transportation.
* We live near a UTA bus stop so I take the bus into work. It only takes me 10-15 minutes more each way and it's less stressful because I'm not driving. I often walk the 3-4 blocks to that stop and get my daily exercise.
* Sometimes I take the bike or walk for nearby errands.
It's interesting because with one car, we have found that one of the natural consequences are lower TCO (total cost of ownership) for family transportation. We tend to combine trips, etc.
Recently, I suggested to my work leadership that they support 9x9 work pay-periods so that we get 1 extra day off every pay-period by working 9 hour days. That cuts out one round trip. I have also encouraged them to put future work locations in places that are regionally accessible from both a transportation and transit perspective (e.g., near freeway exits and FrontRunner/TRAX stops).
I also personally am consider moving closer to where I work so that I can cut down on the commute.
There is much that we can do personally that does not require government to come to the rescue of the transportation system. I'm not sure how to instill that in people because somehow people see transportation as a right with unbounded constraints and not as a resource that has to be funded.
Clearly, we need an inflation adjusted system of funding and a unified political attempt to do that would be a wise thing to do. Every year that goes by is lost ground.
I suppose government can help by providing incentives to get away from zoning for dollars and zoning to shorten round trips. The city I live in would far rather see Wal-Marts and restaurants on every corner than office space on every corner because the former adds more to the tax-base. What is the financial incentive to create diverse communities?
It starts with personal choices. Government can encourage those choices, but it can't and shouldn't force them. Exposing natural consequences like paying for what you use is a good principle to abide by.
To that end perhaps if we just started in 2010 by indexing the gas tax to inflation and providing financial incentives that would promote shorter commutes, we could enable local communities to come up with some interesting solutions.
Sen. Killpack, I am the third "this" in the list of stories related to the news coverage of your discussion about underfunded road needs. It seems as if you feel that I, along with various news agencies, painted your comments unfairly.
While I admit that I deliberately used an attention getter headline, I believe that the body of my post comes to your defense and agrees with your suggestions. If you still feel that my post treats you unfairly, please let me know precisely what I wrote that you find problematic.
Catmando has some very good observations and suggestions. I wonder, however, how indexing gas taxes for inflation would work in practice. Which index would be used: the Fed's core inflation index (which excludes fuel and food), some general inflation index, the fuel inflation index, or something else?
Tying gas taxes directly to anything highly volatile, such as actual fuel inflation, would result in the piling on Catmando discusses when prices go up, and would make long-term planning very difficult because of wild revenue fluctuations.
The law of diminishing returns applies to indexing of any kind, because nothing happens in a vacuum. As gas taxes go up, people are increasingly motivated to take actions that reduce consumption, so revenue increases diminish until they reach a point of actually decreasing. This does not mean that indexing and plans like congestion pricing are bad. It just menas that realities must be factored in.
While I generally favor applying a use tax formulation to roads, we as a society clearly don't want to achieve all road funding this way because the marginal tax rate on the lowest income members of society is much higher than it is for higher income members. (A dollar of tax is much more expensive to the household with $20K income than it is to the household with $80K income.) A wise balance is required or we will essentially be saying that only rich people are permitted to use our roads.
I appreciate Sen. Killpack working to make the real costs of roads apparent. Yes, the market does this better than anything government officials say. And yes, private initiatives should be explored as we think about how to remedy our congestion woes. But it takes leadership to change the way we do things in government. I believe that this is what Sen. Killpack is demonstrating.
Scott @ Reach Upward: Your post was thoughtful and informative and I thought it was fair. I added it to the "this" list just to highlight the various aspects of last week's firestorm. Didn't mean to cast your blog in a negative light, it's actually one of the best ones out there.
Thanks for your comment and help on the issue. Have a great weekend.
Sheldon
I want to second Catmando's personal intervention strategies and say that I too have made changes in my transportation habits and quite often only need to make one stop at the gas station each month.
But, I also like to fuel the fire and want to say that an increase in the gas tax is good idea. With the rise in gas prices, 40 cents is quite painful, however any increase - even a few cents - may be just the thing many people need as a push to make lifestyle changes.
Downscale your SUV, reduce unnecessary driving, combine trips, walk/bike/UTA, etc. Not only will these things reduce the amount of money spent on gas but they will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help reduce the poisonous air we are stuck breathing as a result of our obsession with our cars.
The public often curls at the word "tax" forgetting that these are our societal dues, if you will, to enjoy the benefits of communal property such as roads, parks, libraries, etc. We can't have our cake and eat it too. Everything comes with a price and if you don't like the price tag, its time to reflect upon what is important and make personal changes.
The traffic situation is not going to get better and we can either pay now or pay later. Either way, we are going to have to pay.
I predict counter arguments that an increase in gas tax will hurt lower income families, and I concur. One suggestion is putting more money towards public transportation and adding more routes and more stops. We also need to implement a better pay structure for UTA riders. A person commuting from Herriman to Downtown pays the exact same fair as a person traveling a mile or two down the street for groceries. We also need to make UTA changes to accommodate more bicyclists on the busses. I would love to see more bike lanes, or even designated bike-only roads.
Just a couple of my thoughts.
ReachUpward brings up a good point on pegging the use-tax to inflation. Perhaps the way to do that is really do that is to create a standard basket of goods and services for construction/maintenance because that is really what we are talking about.
I would favor any plan that also provide multiple sources of revenue that are based on usage. It doesn't and shouldn't all come from the gas tax. It should involve the annual vehicle fee, gas tax, congestion pricing, tolling (as long as it systemic and not just on new roads)
This state has demonstrated good fiscal discipline in comparison to other states. Encouraging this discussion to take place as Sen. Killpack and others are doing is a good sign that the status quo will not carry us where we want to be.
Having heard Sen Killpack use the same example for the past couple of years (and knowing how reporter struggle reporting and then editor edit to sell papers) I think it is fair to say that Sen Killpack was misquoted.
Finding ways to fund transportation needs besides the gas tax does not (and probably should not) mean trying to get money from the general fund. Congestion pricing is one example of another source of funding that should be considered. We should really look at any pay-for-use funding sources before we default to higher gas taxes or dipping into the general fund. Actually, as I think about it, the gas tax is basically pay-for-use because if you hardly drive you won't be using much gas.
I hope we see more toll roads and congestion pricing as soon as possible here in Utah. On the East Coast, and outside the USA, such efforts have been very successful.
Think about it, I don't expect the government to provide me with garbage service, or water, for free -- so why should I expect them to provide me with VERY expensive roads for free? I can't think of anything more Republican than a "user pay" system. Furthermore, believe it or not, many Democrats like toll roads and congestion pricing even more than Republicans because it encourages a more efficient allocation of resources, including public transportation and more fuel-efficient cars.
Thanks,
Joel Wright
The congestion pricing in our HOV lanes is a great step in the right direction -- and, as Senator Killpack points out above, has been very successful.
I would propose taking it one step farther, and making all our big new roads into toll roads going forward.
Dear Senator-
I commend you for telling voters the reality of this problem. Often times we voters are treated like children and only hear the good rather than also the bad and the ugly from politicians seeking re-election. No one living along the Wasatch Front can reasonably argue that our transportation system is not in a mess and funding woefully inadequate. We all must be brought to the realization that we cannot have it both ways--lower taxes and more benefits.
I have a few things for the Senate to consider while planning to address this problem.
1)The State Legislature and Governor's office must take control and oversight of UTA. UTA is the most out of control non-elected agency I believe I have ever seen,and I often work in Washington, D.C., so I have seen some classics. A general manager making three times the salary of the Governor? No accountability to monthly increases/decreases in ridership? Using voter sales tax monies in the hundreds of millions of dollars for a trax line to the airport? Building and operating new trax and commuter rail lines without adequate bus service to lines and then to places of work? Ignoring the requirements of transportation in new growth areas of the valley? Mr. Inglish needs to be accountable to the taxpayers and state government officials as a critical part of the overall transportation solution.
2)The 4 county Wasatch Front area must become a single entity as far as transportation management. Similar in thought to a single police force. We cannot expect to have cohesive solutions come to fruition when we have state, county,and city priorities that oppose, rather than compliment the overall strategies for fixing our mess. The state DOT needs to chair a 4 county oversight panel made up of members from the various cities and counties along the Wasatch Front. What one does always has an effect on the other.
3)The state needs to coordinate all construction timing of any and all projects along the 4 county Front. Much congestion and pollution is coming from the lack of prioritization and coordination
of work being completed. For example, while Redwood Road was being reconstructed from 104th to 126th S. last year--the state detour signs sent traffic to a street that South Jordan had torn up and was down to one lane of traffic with a flagger. Any construction contract must require a permit be obtained from the state by the contractor in order to lane closures or traffic disruption between 6:30-8:30 a.m.and 4:30-6:30 p.m.
I have many other ideas-but out of space
Jerry
South Jordan, Utah
The tax on gas needs to be increased. People in Utah have already shown that an increase in gas cost will not change their bad habits. With increased taxes at least we would be paying for transportation improvements in Utah rather than putting it in the pockets of the petroleum industry! We need to learn to conserve and it is going to be a hard and expensive lesson. Are we really better off then we were 4 years ago? Try to remember these things when you vote in November.
First of all, thank you for addressing this issue. I sometimes wonder how the state is affording all the road construction that is going on. I would suggest funding more public transportation, obviously, but even with that, more roads are clearly needed.
In my humble opinion, I wish we could find someway to distribute the tax in other areas rather than a mere gas tax. I think it would be interesting to perhaps raise sales tax a bit, the gas tax a bit, and then pooling the funds to get the necessary funds. While it will still be the same cost, it would be more distributed through various costs. Maybe you can't do that, I am not a politician and I am far too inexperienced to know.
We could always just boycott gas in hopes of lowering the cost of gasoline and then just hike up the gas tax. One can dream, right?
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