Attention all North Fulton taxpayers,
[The Georgia Department of Transportation] held an open house Tuesday evening, March 13 in Roswell, regarding plans for toll lanes on Ga. 400 from I-285 to SR 20. (Yes, that takes a lot of nerve doesn’t it?) How they can expect us to discuss such a topic while they are still stealing our money at the Ga. 400 toll even though we have already paid for that road?
Background:
Currently, there is no end in sight to the Ga. 400 toll, the only mandatory toll road in Georgia. I was in the council chambers around 12 years ago when they passed the Ga. 400 bill and Robb Pitts placed an amendment on the bill to ensure that the tolls would be removed once the tolls finished paying for the road. As many of you know, just before leaving office then Gov., Sonny Perdue, cut a back room deal to extend the toll without citizen or legislature consent. He then sold bonds to raise funds for undisclosed projects based on the promise of more toll revenue. Two years ago, our current state senator, John Albers, ran on the promise to get the tolls removed. Since being elected he has made no progress. A bill, SB97, he sponsored to provide congressional oversight as to where our money is going was so problematic that it was unanimously voted down in committee 7-0, even with the support of the committee chairman. We are no closer today to solving this problem than we have ever been. We are now faced with the prospect of more tolls similar to the I-85 north tolls that have infuriated the people of Gwinnett County none of whom were allowed to participate in the toll installation decision. They now have more traffic congestion resulting from one less free lane and downtown commuters using the toll lane can pay up to a staggering $200 per month in extra taxes.
The Good: Philosophically, I’m in favor of toll roads. They are a much better form of use tax than a gasoline tax. Call me old fashion, but I believe that you should pay for what you use and tolls are a pretty good way of assessing payment on those who use the roads. Associating a fee at the point of service is also a much better economic model for allocating scarce resources (i.e. express lanes during rush hour). The Bad: If the Georgia is determined to raise taxes in through a toll, then they had better be ready and willing to implement offsetting reductions in the gasoline tax. I have heard of no such proposal to lower the gasoline tax. In absence of offsetting tax reductions, this is simply an obvious and audacious tax increase. What's worse, it's a tax increase on the very people who are trying to get to work each day and keep the economy moving. The Ugly: The GA DOT and legislature has proven they cannot be trusted on the issue of tolls. I am astonished by their arrogance. In 2011, the GA 400 toll booth was scheduled to come down. Instead, they gave it a facelift and retooled it so they could pick tax-payer pockets faster and more efficiently. Bottom Line: I am “pro toll” as they are a good system for assessing use fees. However, I am NOT in favor of tolls as a form of DOUBLE TAXATION which this is setting up to be. If you want more tolls then FIRST do away with the indirect transportation taxes such as SPLOST and gas tax.
Good points. We knew where the meeting stood when we discovered it was co-hosted by SRTA, which gets 100% of their revenue from toll roads in Ga. Who was surprised when they and the DOT were recommending tolls on the already-paid-for Ga. 400?