Sales tax increase eyed for transit funds
The Daily Progress
City and county officials are considering raising sales taxes to fund area transit projects.
In discussing options for funding a regional transit authority, several Charlottesville and Albemarle officials have indicated that raising the sales tax by 1 cent may be the best way to go.
A work group composed of two officials from each the city and county governments is in the process of crafting two pieces of legislation for the General Assembly session in January — one to create the regional authority, and a second to give the localities the ability to raise its own funds for transit and transportation projects, including expanding the area bus system.
Melissa Barlow, director of transportation programs for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, said decreases in state transportation funding have forced many localities to generate local dollars for transportation projects.
“Many of them are looking for ways to bridge the gaps,” she said.
With the creation of a regional transit body, the county would have greater weight in transit decisions in exchange for carrying a greater financial burden — currently, the local transit system is operated by the city, with the county essentially serving as a paying customer.
The system operates within the city about 80 percent of the time, with the rest in Albemarle.
“We’ve already all agreed that our priorities would be to get the funding-enabling legislation from the General Assembly,” said David L. Slutzky, a member of the work group and the Albemarle Board of Supervisors.
If the General Assembly grants permission, city and county elected officials would levy the tax and use the revenue dually for transit and transportation projects. A report done by Vienna-based Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. showed that raising the sales tax 1 cent in 2009 for the Charlottesville-Albemarle area would generate more than $26 million.
“Since there’s no leadership on the state level, we’re going to have to be more proactive locally to address our transportation needs,” said city Mayor Dave Norris.
The Charlottesville City Council engaged in a brief discussion of funding options during its Monday meeting, and uniformly agreed that imposing a sales tax increase was simpler than a convoluted range of tax and fee increases. Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads officials attempted to create regional transit authorities that would impose a plethora of taxes and fees, but the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in February that unelected bodies do not have the power to levy such costs on residents.
“The sales tax is an easier, more straightforward approach than a package of funding,” said Albemarle Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker, who serves on the work group. Albemarle board members engaged in a similar discussion about funding during its meeting last week.
But officials are cognizant that tax increases of any kind may not sit well with local residents, especially given the current economic environment.
“I think any tax increase is going to be a hard sell,” Norris said. But, Norris said state officials might require a referendum on the ballot to gauge citizen backing or opposition.
“It’s not unlikely that they won’t require us to put it to a voter referendum before we could enact a sales tax increase,” he said.
Albemarle board Chairman Kenneth C. Boyd said he would like to see legislation crafted about the authority’s creation without the funding piece.
“I’m not in favor of raising taxes on anyone right now,” he said.
It has also not been decided how much revenue from the tax increase, which Norris said would probably take a year or two to start flowing, would be split between transit and transportation projects, which may include roads, bridges or bike and pedestrian paths.
“If this initiative is going to go forward, if they are going to raise taxes, what kind of commitment are they going to make about where the dollars are going to go?” asked Charlottesville resident Peter Kleeman. Kleeman said the money raised should not ultimately be used on underfunded road projects instead of transit projects.
“If we’re going to be thinking urban and growth, we have to think transit,” he added.
City Councilor Satyendra Huja said for a better system, the money has to be fronted.
“If residents want the better transit service, I think in the long run [the sales tax increase] will be better for them,” Huja said. “You can create the authority without funding, but you cannot improve the services.”
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Reader Reactions
There are a couple of interesting comments in this article (laughable).
The statement about urban growth is a laugh. The reason the city has seen growth of one (+1) during the last 10 years is because taxes are excessive.
If you want to see Charlottesville and Albemarle County grow, cut taxes.
The second amusing comment came from Huja. “If residents want a better transit system…“ Councilor, what is the average ridership per bus per trip? How much money are these busses losing annually? I’ll bet you don’t know the figure.
The busses I see running around the city are either empty or they have less than five passengers. I don’t think most people give a flying flip about public transportation in the area. If they did more people would be on the busses.
You people need to get your heads out of the hole in the ground and look around. Right now, people are trying to determine how long they will have their jobs and whether or not they are going to lose their homes. You are completely oblivious to what is going on around you.
This issue needs to be put to the people in the form of a referendum. If the referendum passes in the city but not the county then the city can either forget the idiotic idea or go it alone.
“Change is inevitable. Struggle is an option.“ I saw that on a bumper sticker earlier this week. If only more people could understand what it means to look ahead rather than behind.
Times are changing and what once was is now becoming no more. Traffic congestion is increasing, fuel prices are rising, and the world’s population isn’t shrinking. Anyone who has taken a basic economics class can tell you that when supply fails to meet demand prices will only increase.
Public transportation has a lot of potential, but only if the necessary funds are invested. If you can create a service that encompasses scope and frequency (convenience) to the point that it makes more sense economically than any other form of transportation you’re on your way to a possible break-through.
I would be interested in seeing how the funds would be broken down as well as have the ability to see a cost benefit analysis. Then we (the general public) could have a real say in what’s better for us.
Regardless of how things turn out, we need to change our ways. America is no longer the superpower of the world. If we continue to sit with our hands in our laps we have no one to blame but ourselves.
How about a bike lanes instead? I’d rather see that than more empty buses on the road burning fossil fuels.
And yes, you might even want to charge a little more for bus riders. Its called a user fee!
And so it begins. Let’s raise taxes instead of becoming more efficient. Let’s take more $ from the public instead of waiting until we can actually afford to do something. I mean, heaven forbid they should discuss increasing fares!
Huja is strongly in favor of raising taxes?. What a shocker. Moral of the story: don’t elect former city staffers who grew up eating at the public trough. It’s the only thing they know.
Someday, if we’re really lucky, the Charlottesville-Albemarle area will be under adult supervision. That doesn’t mean Republican or Democrat - it just means people who can think outside the box.
What a good idea. In a recession raise taxes. And since few people can afford the new taxes, let’s raise taxes again. How about cutting spending and holding off on the grand projects until the economy can afford it.
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