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Sunday, Mar. 02, 2008

Gas tax too little to fuel road repairs, officials say

County sales levy sought; critics say enough's enough

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Every time we fill 'er up, some of our money goes into a road repair pot.

But it's never enough.

California voters periodically approve ballot measures promising to fill potholes, fix bridges and relieve traffic. But things seem only to get worse, because the money doesn't come close to covering ever-rising improvement costs, transportation experts universally agree.

That's why Stanislaus County desperately needs a dedicated road tax, say officials who are scurrying to compile data justifying a proposal for the November ballot. Measure K, which had a similar goal, failed in 2006.

"We understand the frustration of people who pay gas tax and approve bond money and wonder why it's not enough," said Tim Kerr, Turlock's city manager. "But the money falls far short of the identified needs, and we're slipping further and further behind every year."

For example, crews should resurface at least 160 lane-miles each year to have a prayer of reversing deteriorating roads in the county's unincorporated areas. Last year, the county found money for only 106 miles.

Matt Machado, the county's public works director, said he's running about $400 million short of what he needs. Turlock should spend $85 million to bring its streets up to par, Kerr said.

"Obviously, nobody has $85 million laying around in a drawer that they can commit to local roads," Kerr said.

Machado, Kerr and plenty of other officials sympathize with people who complain about tax burdens. News of the recent push for a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot generated many calls, e-mails and even letters to the editor from people wanting details.

"Where have our past taxes gone?" asked Modesto's Ron Adkins, echoing others.

Many remember various milestones in California transportation funding history, including Proposition 111 in 1990, Proposition 42 in 2002 and Propositions 1A and 1B in 2006. The latter provided a one-time bond, while the others helped shape a complex formula for taxes generated each time a motorist pumps fuel.

About one-fifth of the price of gas is sucked away in local, state and federal taxes. In Stanislaus County, that's about 60 cents for gas sold at $3 a gallon, and 66 cents per gallon of diesel.

State and federal gas taxes, almost evenly split, account for 38 cents of those 60 cents. Despite many early increases during the decades, they haven't been raised since 1994 and 1993, respectively, and the federal tax is the country's only major tax not adjusted for inflation.

The remaining 22 cents of the 60 cents is sales tax, figured on the same percentage as when you buy a sweater or garden hoe. California has imposed gas tax and sales tax on fuel since 1972.

Tracking the money from here gets much more complicated.

How taxes are spent

These income sources used to be viewed as cash cows, spent at the government's pleasure. Abuse led to several legislative tweaks specifically requiring that money from motorists be used to benefit them, or at least the roads they drive on, including Propositions 111, 42 and 1A.

These days, state and federal lawmakers can do whatever they want with about 8 cents of the 60 cents tax on a gallon of gas; the remaining 52 cents must go to transportation.

But government can be sneaky. Faced with a $16 billion shortfall in the state's budget through mid-2009, Gov. Schwarzenegger two weeks ago signed legislation allowing Sacramento to keep $500 million of gas tax and other transportation funds from counties and cities for five months beginning in April. Lump sums will be repaid without interest in September.