No Easy Fix For Financing Roads
Thursday evening the Republican Club had a soup dinner to raise additional funds for their scholarship program. Over $500 was added to the fund which is used to help area kids pay for tuition, books, etc.
One of the questions I was asked during the meeting had to do with the new I-49 extension. At this time, there are no immediate plans by MoDot to finish the extension. Arkansas is working on two lanes and will eventually be ready to hook up to the Missouri side. There were funds set aside for several years waiting for Arkansas to start work, but the last several years MoDot has had inadequate funds to maintain our existing roads and bridges, and until we can find a way to increase their funding, there will probably be no new road construction.
The funding stream for them has been slowly decreasing compared to the costs of maintenance and materials. This is not an easy dilemma to face. According to the Missouri Constitution, taxes cannot be increased by the General Assembly. Any additional tax for MoDot must be approved by the voters. There were several proposals last year to solve the problem, including adding taxes to cigarettes. One measure to increase gasoline tax by 6 cents made it through the Senate but wasn’t brought up in the House for lack of support. In my opinion, we have to find a way to solve the problem, but it may have to involve two or three different things to make it acceptable to the voters. Some of the solutions include toll roads for some areas, a small increase in fuel taxes, and even returning control of some routes to the counties. One thing is assured: there are no easy fixes. It promises to get interesting!
Saturday afternoon found us at the 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration of Edward and Lila Colleen Haddock of Goodman. I had a Resolution for them and they had a great celebration with family and friends. It’s always fun to hear the stories that couples have to tell on each other on those occasions!
I have to be back in Jeff City this week, so I’ll have some updates next time. Until then, I am and remain in your service.