"It is my belief that each project must pay its own way or not be built."
Jerry Hoagland: Regionalism may be hazardous to your pocketbook
Friday, January 6, 2006
Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006
Collin County has had four options when it comes to financing improvements to State Highway 121.
The first was to wait 20 to 25 years and let the state of Texas take care of the problem – not a good idea, given the growth we are experiencing in our county.
The second was to finance improvements by tolling the road through a local government corporation. A good idea that would have gotten the road built quickly and would have kept the tolls as low as possible. But the Texas Department of Transportation nixed this idea, saying that we already have one regional transportation authority (the North Texas Tollway Authority) and didn't need another.
The third option, the one currently selected by Collin County and the four affected cities, is to join forces with the NTTA in submitting a "regional proposal" to TxDOT for approval.
By choosing to align ourselves with the NTTA regional financing approach, we have a mess on our hands. Paul Wageman, Collin County's appointee to the NTTA board, recently came to one of our meetings seeking input from the Commissioners Court about a strategic vote he would cast at the next NTTA board meeting. The court embraced a strategy that called for a 31 percent subsidy for a toll road that is to be built in Tarrant County.
I cast the only dissenting vote on this strategy. It is my belief that each project must pay its own way or not be built. During our meeting, I asked if Highway 121 would require a subsidy, and the answer was that it would not, but it would, in fact, have excess revenues at the lowest toll rates proposed by NTTA.
As you may know, the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike are already "profitable" for NTTA. Are you beginning to see that the needed subsidy in Tarrant County will be coming out of our pockets?
We are talking untold millions of dollars here, folks. Mr. Wageman cast his vote as requested by the Commissioners Court at the NTTA meeting, but lost by a vote of 4-3. The NTTA board supported an even bigger subsidy – a whopping 55 percent – for the Tarrant County toll road! Now we are talking millions more dollars out of our pockets.
I believe it is time for Collin County to seriously reconsider its membership in NTTA. I now believe that a fourth option – private financing – is the only viable option left for Collin County.
TxDOT could and should contractually limit the internal rate of return – the amount of profit the successful low bidder can earn on this project – to 1 percent or 2 percent. This would result in the lowest tolls possible. If there were any bonuses paid by the successful bidder in order to win the contract, TxDOT should spend the bonus money in Collin County for other greatly needed Collin County road projects.
I also want to request everyone's help. We need the assistance of our local legislative delegation and the governor's office on this problem. You pay a gas tax to the state of Texas every time you fill up your car.
You assume that this tax is dedicated to the improvement of our state highway system. It is not. The Legislature and the governor have permitted approximately $360 million out of the current budget to be spent for items other than roads.
You should demand that your state elected officials dedicate future gas tax money to road construction. If TxDOT had the $360 million in question, the state could pay cash for improvements to Highway 121, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Jerry Hoagland represents Precinct 2 on the Collin County Commissioners Court. Precinct 2 includes southeast Collin County. His e-mail address is jhoagland @collincountytx.gov.
© 2006 The Dallas Mornnig News ww.dallasnews.com
Friday, January 6, 2006
Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006
Collin County has had four options when it comes to financing improvements to State Highway 121.
The first was to wait 20 to 25 years and let the state of Texas take care of the problem – not a good idea, given the growth we are experiencing in our county.
The second was to finance improvements by tolling the road through a local government corporation. A good idea that would have gotten the road built quickly and would have kept the tolls as low as possible. But the Texas Department of Transportation nixed this idea, saying that we already have one regional transportation authority (the North Texas Tollway Authority) and didn't need another.
The third option, the one currently selected by Collin County and the four affected cities, is to join forces with the NTTA in submitting a "regional proposal" to TxDOT for approval.
By choosing to align ourselves with the NTTA regional financing approach, we have a mess on our hands. Paul Wageman, Collin County's appointee to the NTTA board, recently came to one of our meetings seeking input from the Commissioners Court about a strategic vote he would cast at the next NTTA board meeting. The court embraced a strategy that called for a 31 percent subsidy for a toll road that is to be built in Tarrant County.
I cast the only dissenting vote on this strategy. It is my belief that each project must pay its own way or not be built. During our meeting, I asked if Highway 121 would require a subsidy, and the answer was that it would not, but it would, in fact, have excess revenues at the lowest toll rates proposed by NTTA.
As you may know, the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike are already "profitable" for NTTA. Are you beginning to see that the needed subsidy in Tarrant County will be coming out of our pockets?
We are talking untold millions of dollars here, folks. Mr. Wageman cast his vote as requested by the Commissioners Court at the NTTA meeting, but lost by a vote of 4-3. The NTTA board supported an even bigger subsidy – a whopping 55 percent – for the Tarrant County toll road! Now we are talking millions more dollars out of our pockets.
I believe it is time for Collin County to seriously reconsider its membership in NTTA. I now believe that a fourth option – private financing – is the only viable option left for Collin County.
TxDOT could and should contractually limit the internal rate of return – the amount of profit the successful low bidder can earn on this project – to 1 percent or 2 percent. This would result in the lowest tolls possible. If there were any bonuses paid by the successful bidder in order to win the contract, TxDOT should spend the bonus money in Collin County for other greatly needed Collin County road projects.
I also want to request everyone's help. We need the assistance of our local legislative delegation and the governor's office on this problem. You pay a gas tax to the state of Texas every time you fill up your car.
You assume that this tax is dedicated to the improvement of our state highway system. It is not. The Legislature and the governor have permitted approximately $360 million out of the current budget to be spent for items other than roads.
You should demand that your state elected officials dedicate future gas tax money to road construction. If TxDOT had the $360 million in question, the state could pay cash for improvements to Highway 121, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Jerry Hoagland represents Precinct 2 on the Collin County Commissioners Court. Precinct 2 includes southeast Collin County. His e-mail address is jhoagland @collincountytx.gov.
© 2006 The Dallas Mornnig News
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Friday, January 06, 2006
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