Question No. 9: Tony Palmeri Response
Do you support a user fee/toll system to pay for the reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange and the freeway system in southeast Wisconsin?
No. A user fee/toll system is a regressive form of taxation.
The Marquette Interchange reconstruction is an $810 million project. Our representatives in Washington must obtain as much federal support for the project as possible.
Additionally, the legislature needs to act on the results of a 2002 audit of the Department of Transportation’s Major Highway Projects program. The audit found a pattern of excessive cost overruns (sometimes up to 262%) and a lack of fiscal restraint. In other words, money that could be used to support projects like the Marquette Interchange reconstruction is simply being wasted.
Are there ways to bring down the costs of road construction and maintenance in the state?
Yes. First, we should follow the model of other states and incorporate “value engineering” practices. Transportation watchdogs claim that such practices can save over $350 million per year.
Second, we should eliminate gas tax indexing, a discgraceful form of taxation without representation that allows the legislature to collect an ever increasing amount of transportation money that is used to support questionable highway projects. If the politicians have to vote on tax increases (which is their ethical responsibility), they are less likely to waste money.
Third, the governor should appoint a blue ribbon commission charged with planning a 21st century alternative transportation model for Wisconsin (light rail, biker-friendly policies, etc.).
Fourth, we need to eliminate the current Transportation Projects Commission (currently includes the governor, three citizens appointed by the governor, 10 members of the legislature and the DOT secretary as a nonvoting member) and replace it with an elected Citizen Oversight Board (COB). An elected Board would be much less likely to be composed of “insiders” with some an interest in pet road building projects.
Do you think local governments can do a better job of stretching the available funds?
In 2002 Wisconsin spent 47% of its transportation budget on just 11% of its roadways. Half the budget is spent on 12,000 miles of state highways while the remaining half (according to the Legislative Audit Bureau) is allocated to 98,000 miles of local roads and highways, the State Patrol, the Department of Motor Vehicles, 71 public transportation systems, railroads, airports, harbors, bike paths, transportation services for people with disabilities and the elderly, and other items.
Local governments in general are doing the best they can with the limited resources available to them. It is the state government that is not a good steward of funds, whether we are talking about transportation or any other item.
What local governments must do is participate more actively in “smart growth” policies that deemphasize sprawl and thus reduce the need for ever expanding construction of new roads.
No. A user fee/toll system is a regressive form of taxation.
The Marquette Interchange reconstruction is an $810 million project. Our representatives in Washington must obtain as much federal support for the project as possible.
Additionally, the legislature needs to act on the results of a 2002 audit of the Department of Transportation’s Major Highway Projects program. The audit found a pattern of excessive cost overruns (sometimes up to 262%) and a lack of fiscal restraint. In other words, money that could be used to support projects like the Marquette Interchange reconstruction is simply being wasted.
Are there ways to bring down the costs of road construction and maintenance in the state?
Yes. First, we should follow the model of other states and incorporate “value engineering” practices. Transportation watchdogs claim that such practices can save over $350 million per year.
Second, we should eliminate gas tax indexing, a discgraceful form of taxation without representation that allows the legislature to collect an ever increasing amount of transportation money that is used to support questionable highway projects. If the politicians have to vote on tax increases (which is their ethical responsibility), they are less likely to waste money.
Third, the governor should appoint a blue ribbon commission charged with planning a 21st century alternative transportation model for Wisconsin (light rail, biker-friendly policies, etc.).
Fourth, we need to eliminate the current Transportation Projects Commission (currently includes the governor, three citizens appointed by the governor, 10 members of the legislature and the DOT secretary as a nonvoting member) and replace it with an elected Citizen Oversight Board (COB). An elected Board would be much less likely to be composed of “insiders” with some an interest in pet road building projects.
Do you think local governments can do a better job of stretching the available funds?
In 2002 Wisconsin spent 47% of its transportation budget on just 11% of its roadways. Half the budget is spent on 12,000 miles of state highways while the remaining half (according to the Legislative Audit Bureau) is allocated to 98,000 miles of local roads and highways, the State Patrol, the Department of Motor Vehicles, 71 public transportation systems, railroads, airports, harbors, bike paths, transportation services for people with disabilities and the elderly, and other items.
Local governments in general are doing the best they can with the limited resources available to them. It is the state government that is not a good steward of funds, whether we are talking about transportation or any other item.
What local governments must do is participate more actively in “smart growth” policies that deemphasize sprawl and thus reduce the need for ever expanding construction of new roads.
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