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By Roger Chesley The Virginian-Pilot May 22, 2012 The optimist in me applauds the upcoming summit, by leaders of manylocalities along the "Golden Crescent" corridor, to findways to confront transportation problems in Virginia. That decision, coupled with Gov. Bob McDonnell's willingness tore-examine the state's outdated and inefficient tax code, couldincrease funding to build roads. The construction account might bedepleted as early as 2017; if that happens, the state road budgetwould have cash only for repairs. The pessimist in me wonders whether all this financial navel-gazingwill change anything. State and local leaders, transportation gurus, and residents knowwhat the illness is. The cure is what many folks dread. First, the good news. Virginian-Pilot writer Debbie Messina reported Sunday that localofficials will meet June 5 in Henrico County. These city mayors andcounty chairs come from areas along interstates 64 and 95, betweenHampton Roads and Northern Virginia. These communities include someof the state's top economic generators. These regions want to force General Assembly legislators to dealwith the ever-growing crisis - instead of kicking the problem alongfor another decade or two. In one example, the gridlock here could cost the region anestimated 300 jobs. An article last month noted that efforts toestablish a new operation at Portsmouth Marine Terminal may falter.The project would handle part of the wash-down of militaryequipment returning from Afghanistan. Hampton Roads has several transportation proposals that requiretolls. Motorists will have to pay a veritable entrance-exit fee inthe region. Commuters who live and work in different cities alsowill fork over lots of cash annually. The nascent project to expandthe Midtown Tunnel raised howls of protest from residents inPortsmouth and Norfolk after the details were released. Why are residents here having to foot so much of the constructionbill? We helped pay for roads elsewhere in the commonwealth; whyisn't that act of good faith being reciprocated? Meanwhile, the governor said this month he wants to re-examine thestate tax code. He told The Associated Press he'd look at taxingservices - such as car repair, tax preparation and haircuts - thatare now exempt. "We have now carved out more exemptions to the sales tax thanwe collect," McDonnell said. "I think it's time to take alook at all those tax preferences, both in income and sales, andsee if there is not some way of looking at those policies andseeing if there is not some way we can save some money and put itinto transportation." Yet he also wants tax code changes to be"revenue-neutral," meaning there's no net increase inoverall tax burden. That stance strikes me as naive. How is it possible to pay formajor road projects without increasing the pot of money? The pricetag for the bridges and tunnels needed just in Hampton Roads runsin the billions of dollars. The Henrico summit and tax code review are a good start to boostingtransportation funding. Unless the governor and the Assembly are serious, however,Virginians will continue to fall behind. Roger Chesley, 757-446-2329, roger.chesley@pilotonline.com , pilotonline.com/chesley. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China 12V DC Winch , Electric Boat Winch for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Heavy Duty Electric Winches.
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