Cook proposes county funding for transportation
Supervisor says multi-year plan would generate about $40 million
by Kali Schumitz, Staff Writer
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20120320/NEWS/703209953/cook-proposes-county-funding-for-transportation&template=fairfaxTimes
Although funding road construction and maintenance has traditionally been a state responsibility in Virginia, Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) thinks that Fairfax County should be investing more of its own dollars in transportation.
He outlined a multi-year plan Tuesday that he says would generate about $40 million for transportation needs over the next three fiscal years.
“This plan is not a panacea,” Cook said. “It is a measured first step.”
According to staff estimates, the county needs about $3 billion in additional transportation funding over the next decade to meet its transportation needs.
Cook proposes dedicating funding from the county’s vehicle license fee solely to transportation, separating the revenues from the county’s general fund. He proposes phasing in the change over three years.
In addition, he said the board should commit half of whatever funds it has left over at the end of the fiscal year to transportation.
The Board of Supervisors agreed to examine the plan in more detail, with input from county staff, at future work sessions on the fiscal 2013 budget or in the board’s Transportation Committee.
However, some supervisors indicated that they have reservations about pulling dollars away from the general fund, especially as the county continues to recover from the recession.
“Human services has seen the greatest cut over the last three years,” said Supervisor Catherine Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill). “And yet we are not at a point where we can restore those services.”
Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) also said he is hearing from his constituents that there are things that have been cut from the budget in recent years that they would like to see restored. Taking flexibility out of the budget by earmarking it for transportation could make that more challenging, he said.
“If we’re going to develop new money, we have to be bold about it,” McKay said, suggesting new taxes or fees would have a greater impact than Cook’s proposal.