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VDOT's funding decrease to hit Virginia's counties and cities the hardest
With the recent downturn of the economy and the elimination of the abusive driver fees, the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) budget and Six-Year Program will be reduced by approximately $1.1 billion.
The areas that will feel this massive reduction the most will be the Commonwealth's urban and secondary roads, which will see a decrease in funding of approximately 44 percent.
By law, funding for these types of construction projects must take a back seat to other statewide transportation funding needs, so this means that many of the Commonwealth's much-needed local transportation improvements will have to be removed from the VDOT's Six-year Improvement Program, putting them in a position where they receive less local road funding than they did in 1996!
The following chart shows how devastating these reductions are to our local transportation systems by highlighting funding comparisons from VDOT's 1996, 2008 and 2009 allocations for several selected counties' and cities' secondary and urban roads programs throughout Virginia:
| County/City |
FY 1996 |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 |
| Fairfax County |
$28,215,423 |
$22,847,000 |
$12,143,000 |
| Campbell County |
$1,904,467 |
$1,467,000 |
$780,000 |
| Rockbridge County |
$1,024,881 |
$845,000 |
$449,000 |
| Spotsylvania County |
$2,376,287 |
$2,884,000 |
$1,533,000 |
| Stafford County |
$2,448,154 |
$2,812,000 |
$1,494,000 |
| Chesterfield County |
$7,639,740 |
$6,727,000 |
$3,576,000 |
| Frederick County |
$1,943,525 |
$1,872,000 |
$995,000 |
| Roanoke County |
$8,562,817 |
$6,519,000 |
$3,465,000 |
| Prince William County |
$7,477,259 |
$8,192,000 |
$4,354,000 |
| City of Hampton |
$8,489,411 |
$7,170,000 |
$3,811,000 |
| City of Newport News |
$11,009,127 |
$8,928,000 |
$4,745,000 |
| James City County |
$1,323,284 |
$1,396,000 |
$742,000 |
| Hanover County |
$2,424,719 |
$$2,326,000 |
$1,236,000 |
| Brunswick County |
$1,026,444 |
$856,000 |
$455,000 |
| City of Virginia Beach |
$28,215,423 |
$21,335,000 |
$11,340,000 |
| Arlington County |
$5,672,780 |
$4,271,000 |
$2,270,000 |
| Scott County |
$1,196,736 |
$909,000 |
$483,000 |
| City of Suffolk |
$2,420,187 |
$3,913,000 |
$2,080,000 |
| Augusta County |
$2,410,658 |
$2,035,000 |
$1,082,000 |
| City of Harrisonburg |
$2,014,541 |
$2,188,000 |
$1,163,000 |
| Fauquier County |
$2,023,203 |
$1,728,000 |
$918,000 |
| Henry County |
$2,168,499 |
$1,498,000 |
$796,000 |
| Loudoun County |
$2,965,281 |
$5,399,000 |
$2,870,000 |
| Montgomery County |
$1,031,131 |
$940,000 |
$500,000 |
| Bedford County |
$2,614,162 |
$2,294,000 |
$1,219,000 |
| Culpeper County |
$1,532,371 |
$1,598,000 |
$849,000 |
| Henrico County |
$7,494,444 |
$6,462,000 |
$3,435,000 |
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Please note:The 2008 figures listed above show VDOT's current funding levels for FY 2008 for the corresponding localities, however beginning July 1 VDOT will operate under a new Six-Year Improvement Plan for FY '09. The FY '09 funding levels are the anticipated secondary road allocations based on new revenue forecasts.
For information about VDOT's shrinking budget and how it affects you, click here.
For information about the transportation funding shortfall, click here.
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Taxing authority ruled unconstitutional
The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the taxing authority granted by the General Assembly to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) in 2007 is unconstitutional.
The NVTA was created by the General Assembly in 2007 as part of the transportation funding legislation package HB 3202. This funding package gave the NVTA the authority to impose a series of taxes to fund transportation projects in the Northern Virginia region.
Previously the NVTA's authority to collect these regional taxes had been challenged by Del. Bob Marshall and Loudoun County, but was upheld by the Arlington County Circuit Court.
However, the recent ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court deemed that "the General Assembly may by special act delegate the power of taxation to any county, city, town, or regional government," but the court further ruled that "NVTA is not a county, city, town, or regional government, and thus is not a political subdivision to which the General Assembly may constitutionally delegate taxing authority…"
Unfortunately for the Commonwealth and our transportation system, this ruling will cancel out any taxes imposed by the NVTA as well as prohibit the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority (HRTA), which was also created by HB 3202, from collecting any fees for its regional transportation programs.
Combined, the NVTA and the HRTA were expected to collect more than $400 million a year for regional transportation projects.
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The Commonwealth - still in need of long-term solution
With the recent veto by the House committee to stop a bill that would raise Virginia's gas tax by a mere penny a year over the next five years the Commonwealth's gas tax will remain ineffective in meeting our transportation funding needs.
According to the author of a recent editorial in The Daily Progress, "Virginia will pay for that decision – not with a small tax increase now, but with increasing highway gridlock, driver frustration and revenue losses due to transportation slowdowns in the future."
Virginia is so far behind in maintenance and construction funding that unless something is done, "by 2015 Virginia will have no money left for building new roads. All revenue will be consumed by simply maintaining those roads we already have," said Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Alexandria.
To read the entire article, click here.
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Virginia needs stable source of revenue for transportation system to combat declining economy
The Roanoke Times recently published an editorial explaining the direct impact the declining economy has on funding for Virginia's transportation system.
Due to the slowing of the economy, transportation revenue is in danger on being back where it started before the passage of last year's transportation funding package, the editorial reports.
In order to become a system that is unaffected by the economy, "Virginia's transportation system needs a fresh infusion of revenue," with stable revenue sources for road and maintenance projects, which according to the editorial, means taxes.
To read the entire article, click here.
For more information about the transportation funding crisis or Virginians for Better Transportation, call 804-237-1399 or click here to visit the It's Time Web site.
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