Rep. Thomas: MDOT Has Plenty of Money to Pave Maine Roads
Above all, let's not kid Maine people that those potholes they're driving around are there because Mainer's aren't paying enough taxes. Read More....
Editor's Note: Rep. Doug Thomas's title for this piece is "MDOT in the Ditch." I added to the AMG subject line "Plenty of Money to Pave Maine Roads."
On Friday, Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner (MDOT) David Cole announced he will cancel 75-percent of all maintenance paving projects because of reduced funding levels in the Highway Budget approved last week by the Maine Legislature.
Wait a minute. The MDOT has plenty of money, from $130 million in federal stimulus money, to $150 million in Garvee Bonds, to the increase in the gas tax (indexing) every year, to the 40-percent increase in the cost to license a car last year - we're paying enough.
The new Highway Budget includes a new spending line item: $75 million dollars to a new fund TransCap Fund. This fund enables the MDOT to borrow-and-spend hundreds of millions of dollars above what is in the Highway Budget - without voter approval. Hundreds of millions of dollars taxpayers have to repay with interest. We can keep our roads in good condition by using just part of that $75 million. Legislators tried to make changes to the Highway Budget to do just that, but their ideas were rejected.
There's plenty of money to make our roads safe if it is managed effectively.
Paving may be down, but MDOT personnel services are up and take and ever increasing share of the Highway Budget every year. One MDOT employee gets a $49,000 benefit package on top of his regular salary.
Another problem is spending from the Highway Fund to cover General Fund expenses. The Highway Funds now pays 51-percent of State Police when an internal study says that, according to the Maine Constitution, it should be about half that amount. That's about $15 million every year that could go to paving. The $8 million covering Maine Ferry System has always been paid by the General Fund until this Administration moved it to the Highway Fund. Added together this misdirected revenue alone would pave over 500 miles every year.
Maine people can't afford to pay higher taxes in times like these - and there's no need to. We need to demand the money we are currently sending gets used more wisely. Above all, let's not kid Maine people that those potholes they're driving around are there because Mainer's aren't paying enough taxes.
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