Megan Poinski - MarylandReporter.com: Reinstating local transportation funds dominates commission discussion

Reinstating local transportation funds dominates commission discussion

September 28, 2011

By Megan Poinski
Megan@MarylandReporter.com

http://marylandreporter.com/2011/09/28/reinstating-local-transportation-funds-dominates-commission-discussion/

Recommendations on how to get highway user revenues back to county and municipal governments – and how much money is really needed – dominated discussion as the Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding worked toward finalizing recommendations for the governor and General Assembly.

Commission Chairman Gus Bauman said that the final report will be a sort of “second chapter” to the recommendations it sent in February. Meeting in Frederick Tuesday, members looked over some drafts of policy suggestions gleaned from previous discussions and written up by commission staff.

But problems arose from the very beginning. The first recommendation on the draft was that the General Assembly pass legislation that would allow local jurisdictions to create their own taxes to use for road construction.

“It seems to me if we are doing this, we’re waving the white flag,” said member Lon Anderson, director of government and public relations for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “The state is never going to come up with enough money, so we’re letting the municipalities go.”

Judith Davis, the mayor of Greenbelt representing the Maryland Municipal League on the commission, said that while local governments are desperate for more funds, the state should meet its obligations. Local governments received millions of dollars from the state to use on road projects in less critical budget times, but those funds have lately been taken to meet other government needs.

Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/2011/09/28/reinstating-local-transportation-funds-dominates-commission-discussion/
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