Gas tax aims to pay for roads, bridges

CELINA - Mercer County Engineer Jim Wiechart said Mike DeWine is the first Ohio governor in some time to address the issue of inadequate infrastructure funding instead of kicking the can down the road as had previous administrations.

DeWine's administration on Thursday recommended increasing the state gas tax by 18 cents to 46 cents per gallon beginning July 1 and annually adjusting that tax for inflation to provide sufficient funding to maintain roads and bridges.

Nearby states, according to DeWine's recommendation report, have the following gas tax rates: Indiana, 42.9 cents; Kentucky, 26 cents; Michigan, 44.1 cents; West Virginia, 35.7 cents; and Pennsylvania, 58.7 cents.

Asked about DeWine's plan to raise the gas sales tax, Wiechart, while not commenting on the precise proposed increase, said, "local governments haven't seen any inflationary adjustments in infrastructure revenue in the last 16 years that could support their roads and bridges."

Still, Wiechart has his doubts whether an adequate funding amount will be garnered through the state Legislature.

"It is a long, difficult path through the General Assembly, and from a local government perspective I am very skeptical that the necessary inflationary adjustments to adequately maintain our roads and bridges will be made through the legislative process," he told the newspaper.

Faced with their own shortfall of road and bridge revenue, Mercer County officials are in the process of enacting an additional $5 tax that would require operators of all motor vehicles used on public roads or highways to pay at least $15 annually in local vehicle registration permissive taxes.

It would be the third such countywide tax and raise an extra $255,000 each year for much-needed road resurfacing, according to Wiechart.

"With the existing revenue structure that is available, we are unable to adequately improve and maintain the 385 miles of county roads and 381 bridges on township and county roads," Wiechart told the newspaper. "The enactment of this $5 permissive will not solve this long-term revenue sustainability issue, but it will allow for more needed work to be done."

Ohio Department of Transportation director Jack Marchbanks on Thursday introduced the governor's $7.43 billion transportation budget proposal to the House Finance Committee. The gas tax included in the two-year budget would be adjusted annually with the consumer price index to ensure sufficient funding going forward, Marchbanks said.

He said revenue raised the first year, by increasing the current 28-cent tax to 46 cents, equates to roughly $1.2 billion and will be split between the department and local governments.

"But I think it's important for the people of the state of Ohio to know that any money that is put into that road fund from fuel tax by the Constitution, guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be spent on anything else," DeWine told reporters on Tuesday at an Associated Press forum. "So it is a users' tax - those who drive on the roads pay, those who don't drive on the roads don't pay directly, at least. They may pay indirectly."

Marchbanks on Thursday told legislators that without more revenue in the face of the "impending transportation crisis," there will be no funds for any highway improvement projects in the state and roads will deteriorate. Statistics show that deteriorating road conditions lead to more crashes, which lead to more fatalities, he said.

"Governor DeWine understands that maintaining the integrity of our roads and bridges is not only important to our economy; it is important to the health and welfare of our citizens," Marchbanks said.

If the Legislature approves the recommendations, the proposal would provide the department in fiscal year 2020 with $750 million additional dollars in revenue to pave roads, fix guardrails, fill potholes, clear snow and ice, maintain bridges and improve safety, Marchbanks told the committee.

He said it also will provide local governments with a significant increase in the funding, including $1.6 million for every county in the state.

Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, at Tuesday's AP forum said it's not a Republican or a Democratic issue, but rather one coming from mayors in Ohio who are looking for help.

"We have so many communities that are so poor financially they can't afford to fix these potholes and the tension that it creates is devastating because we are spending just thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars repairing our automobiles instead of repairing the roads," Yuko said.

Marchbanks has previously said that contracts for road maintenance that totaled $2.4 billion in 2014 may drop to $1.5 billion in 2020, and a $1 billion gap remains in the department budget.

A transportation crisis is looming despite "all of ODOT's multimillion-dollar cost-saving efforts to make our agency leaner and more efficient," he told committee members Thursday.

The department realizes that asking Ohioans to pay higher fees for roadway use is "no small task," but hopes that most will understand the importance of responsible and sufficient transportation funding, the director said.

DeWine said an infrastructure funding structural deficit had been masked by revenue generated through bonds, money that now is either gone or obligated.

"The $1.5 billion raised for highway projects through the sale of bonds backed by future toll revenue from the Ohio Turnpike paid for 13 major projects within 75 miles of the turnpike. It also allowed the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission to make improvements along the corridor. The commission, however, will be paying on the debt until 2048 and will not have revenue for new projects," DeWine's recommendation report reads.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that Tom Balzer, president of the Ohio Trucking Association, and Grace Gallucci, president of the Ohio Association of Regional Councils, commented on a potential tax increase in testimony to legislators this week.

Balzer said the state and local governments have immediate transportation needs, and the gas tax raises immediate revenue.

Gallucci pointed out that while questions remain about whether the gas tax is the fairest way to assess users of Ohio roads, it is a way to get needed money right away.

The County Commissioners Association of Ohio on Thursday also issued a statement supporting the fuel tax increase.

"We are grateful for Governor DeWine's strong leadership on this issue," CCAO President Julie Ehemann said. "This proposal will help counties address critical needs in our transportation system, including over 1,800 bridges that are eligible for immediate replacement and another 6,000 that are eligible for repair."
  "It is clear that Ohio must improve and expand its transportation infrastructure to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century, and Ohio's counties are committed to partnering with the state to make this happen," she added.
  

- The Associated Press contributed to this story.