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The big news here in NH this week was the revelation that the state’s highway fund is short on dollars, causing a rollback of expectations and plans for major road construction projects in the Granite State. Reported the Citizen (Laconia, NH) this week:
Not enough money and too many promises sums up the sad state of New Hampshire’s 10-year highway plan, says Transportation Commissioner Charles O’Leary..Projects need to be eliminated, he said, including widening a section of Interstate 93 between Manchester and Londonderry.
And why is it we’re short on highway construction monies? I thought that the point of the taxes we pay at the pump was for this? As you might have guessed, the excuses sound like the standard fare offered up by government mouthpieces as they lay the groundwork for raising taxes. "It was my predecessor’s fault." And, the usual drying up of "federal dollars" once again rears its head. Again from the Citizen,
O’Leary said federal highway aid will drop 30 percent starting in fiscal 2009. The drop is compounded by a 45 percent increase in costs over the past three years due to inflation. Federal highway dollars also have been diverted to turnpike projects, which should rely on tolls for construction and expansion.."Someone should have turned the lights out long ago" on new turnpike construction, not backed by adequate toll revenue to pay for it, he said.
Give Mr. O’Leary credit for publicizing a problem that has been a long time in the making. The prior DOT head spent much of the final time in her tenure denying problems existed, until it was too late, blaming much on the antiquated methods and technologies used by the department. I recall reading someplace that the NH DOT was akin to stepping back in time to the 1950’s. Using fifty year old procedures is certainly no way to run a multimillion dollar enterprise, public or private.
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While I can appreciate Mr. O’Leary’s explanation, I think he left out a few of the other contributing causes…
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While EZ Pass is convenient for motorists, the fact remains it costs much more to operate and administer, thus removing dollars that might otherwise go for roads. Then there’s the matter of the "fine" paid to the state’s DES for the dumping of hazardous waste by the DOT bridge crews, which has been amply covered here, here, and here. Scratch another 350K from the paving budget. And let’s not forget all the dough wasted on so-called "public transportation" programs in rural areas. There used to be a time when, if you needed a multitude of "services" and the such, you lived in an urban area, places where the sheer numbers of folks make certain things more sensible and affordable. Watching the empty busses trundling back and forth on the roads and byways here in the Lakes Region of Central NH makes me want to cry. Why do MY taxes have to fund such waste?
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How many jobsites do you travel past and wonder, "Why are they doing this?" Last year the state replaced every perfectly good sign on our local "bypass" road with identical signs on really expensive looking posts, erected right next to the "old" expensive-looking posts. This year, they’re removing perfectly good traffic signals at one end of the road with another setup that is the same. Additionally, they’re removing weathered granite curbs with new ones that are exactly the same. Why? Does somebody need weathered granite at their private residence? My point is that many projects appear to be of the "use it or lose it" nature, not based on any apparently obvious need. Let’s not forget parking lots at historic homesteads, restrooms at remote locations, and needless sidewalks (like the second one we’re building here in Gilford with "matching" highway funds).
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The bottom line is that the 10-year plan members of the travelling public have been waiting for (and paying for) for many years– the one with the truly needy stuff– isn’t gonna happen. All of this just piles on as the amount of "transportation" projects at the feeding trough multiply. Don’t worry, though, because helpfully, as usual, our Executive Councilor, "Republican" Ray Burton has the answer to all of this. Again, from the Citizen:
Councilor Raymond Burton, R-Bath, said the gas tax needs to be increased and tolls raised to have a realistic construction plan.
Of course they do. Writing in the July 19th Daily Sun (unavailable online) Chris Dornin of Golden Dome News further quotes Burton, on the demise of the 10-year plan and the elimination of long-planned projects:
"We’ll have to take this plan to the people in our districts and explain to them what the real world looks like," Burton said. "It’s no secret we have to increase tolls and taxes. That isn’t going to be good news. But that’s our job. And we have to stop using the highway fund as an ATM for other state agencies. Health and Human Services, the court system and the state ploice tap into it for $69 million a year."
He’s right about that– although most of it gets done with his help and blessing. One has to wonder if Ray’s simply uptight about this simply because the highway funds are supposed to be HIS ATM…
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Oh, and what does he mean by, "That’s our job"? To raise taxes?