One in four? (9/21/07)
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[NOTE: This is a repost of a piece, originally up Friday, titled, Change is good… Especially if there’s any left in our pockets after NH’s "leaders" are done with us. That way, we can pay the tolls! This story is one we believe everybody MUST know about. See PART II here.]
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In the August 31 Laconia Daily Sun (unavailable online) story about the ongoing money woes of the NH DOT, it was reported that
The state needs to examine how it is spending its existing highway construction money before talking about raising more revenue, Gov. John Lynch says.."We have to be more disciplined," Lynch said Wednesday. "We can’t do everything, nor should we do everything."
Additionally, he said,
"Before we consider the need for additional revenue- which I don’t think is there- we need to manage the funds today, which we are not doing well."
WOW! I thought– after some three years as Governor, I finally found something I could agree with him about! At the end of August I was finally happy with the thought that for once, when it came to the NH DOT funding "crisis", we would do the right thing. We would finally "fix" government overspending by reducing it, instead of simply taking more money from the hapless citizens of the state. Despite the fact that some prominent Republican "leaders" like my Executive Councilor Ray Burton (who has long overseen the squandering of the road dough) and others who’ve been saying we need to raise gas taxes and tolls claiming it’s been too long since we last increased them, I thought Gov. Lynch would hang tough.
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Guess what? I was wrong about Gov. Lynch. Apparently, he didn’t mean what he said. Or, is the state already done "examining how it is spending its existing highway construction money?" We must be, right? The Governor said that would be done before "talking about raising more revenue." And we must have figured out how to "manage the funds" much better in the three weeks since the Governor made the above statements, right?
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The Governor said we would do all those things before seeking additional revenue, and well, as you’ve probably heard by now, he’s gone and approved a toll hike on our highways. I’m pretty sure he means to seek additional revenue by doing that… This was the headline from yesterday’s Daily Sun:
Governor Supports Plan to Increase Highway Tolls.
The story reports
Transportation Commissioner Charles O’Leary on Wednesday proposed hiking tolls throughout most of New Hampshire’s turnpike system to help pay for construction projects.
Keeping in mind what I quoted at the beginning of this post– the words of Gov. John Lynch a scant three weeks back–this is what the Daily Sun reported he has to say now, about the plan to jack up the tolls here in the Granite State:
Gov. John Lynch says he supports the plan and would ask the Executive Council to approve the increases….[snip]."I think this is an urgent need here in New Hampshire, and as I said, to do nothing is not only unacceptable, but I believe it’s irresponsible," Lynch said.
Does anybody believe for a minute that we are presently running as tight a ship as is possible at the NHDOT? Has the government exhausted ALL possibilities and saved and squeezed every last red cent prior to this moment?
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The photo at the top of this post was taken today. This is a project on the ramp coming into Gilford off the Route 3/11 Bypass. Months back, a clump of asphalt was glommed around a stormdrain and a barrel with a barely blinking light was placed there. Every time I’ve gone past it with my son this summer he’s asked, "When are they going to fix this, anyway, Dad?" And we’d chuckle about state workers. You know, the usual yucks you’d hear around a water cooler anywhere. Anyway, they’ve come back to the project this week. After talking to several people, the concensus is that they’ve been at this jobsite for a couple of days.
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As I drove past, I couldn’t help but noticing five people and five very nice (some expensive looking) pieces of equipment- 2 huge dump trucks, a backhoe, a rubber wheeled excavator, and a pickup truck. Five people. Five vehicles:
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What was happening was a guy was in the cutout cementing a new iron drain cover in place. The asphalt had been carefully cut, and a vibrator was being used to compact the earth. All was being done in a quality way. [NOTE: This is not intended to bag on the workers at the scene. They only follow orders…]
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Notice the fine cutout. My beef isn’t with the quality…
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Here’s my problem: I know what a project like this entails– I used to do similar work when I was younger working for my father’s company in RI. Here’s how it would go– Two guys would tow a portable compressor and a jackhammer to the workzone. Even if the asphalt was pre-sawed, which I have no problem with, we’d jackhammer the pieces into small, manageable chunks and lift and remove them. We’d dig out the hole by hand with shovels (now I’m not saying a backhoe, if handy, shouldn’t be used) and do the proper prep. Mix the morter in a tub, and cement the thing in place. Go back the next day with a small dump truck and a Bobcat. Fill and finish, prepped for paving. Done.
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My question is this: Is a construction project, utilizing expensive equipment and multiple employees (on whose behalf we must pay $$ to the failing state pension fund) the most effective use of the highway construction funds? Could this project have been subcontracted to the private sector at a significant savings? How much did this one puny project cost the gas-tax and toll paying citizens here in NH?
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How about it Governor Lynch? Why don’t you tighten up YOUR fiscal house of which you oversee before you take more of my money? Show me you’ve done everything you can before asking me to shell out more. The same goes for all you Republicans out there salivating at the prospect of all the new money!
Is this the most cost effective way? I don’t think so.
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[A hat tip and note of thanks goes to Ken, who fired me up to write this by waving the August 31 Sun in my face in the first place. He’s not pleased with Gov. Lynch, and neither am I. Ken had a nice letter in today’s Monitor. Click here.]
