Rural road funding measures tied to taxpayer’s pocketbook

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Morgan countians could see state and local taxes on gasoline and motor fuel products rise sharply in 2008 if four separate bills that were introduced in the legislature in 2007 are adopted.
One of the proposed bills would shift the collection of statewide motor fuel taxes from the wholesale point to the refinery. Most states now collect the tax at this point because there are fewer businesses from which to collect the tax and, more importantly, this method reduces the opportunity for tax evasion.
Another would give counties the authority to levy a local gasoline and/or motor fuel tax not to exceed 5 cents per gallon. This new revenue source would be used for road and bridge construction and could not be used for equipment or salaries.
Yet another bill would link the rate of gasoline and motor fuel taxes to a ratio between the amount of gasoline sold in Alabama and the cost of road construction. Using 1993 as the base year, the rate of the statewide taxes would be adjusted over a five-year period in order to reach the present-day levels. The taxes would be adjusted annually thereafter.
Last but not least, another bill would clear the way for a second bridge replacement bond issue of not more than $275 million. The revenue would be distributed in the same manner as the 2000 bond issue. The guidelines and time restrictions for the use of the funds would mirror the first bridge bond issue. Although a specific source of funding is not identified, the additional revenue produced by the other funding measures would be used to repay the bonds,
These proposed bills were referenced in “An Overview of the Morgan County Road and Bridge System,” which was provided to the media recently by Morgan County Engineer Greg Bodley. He said they were drafted to address both the immediate and future needs of the state’s roads and bridges.
Roads and bridges in need of repair
A recent assessment of Morgan County’s 645 miles of roads, with road grading criteria used by the Alabama Department of Transportation as a guide, shows that 99 miles of the roads received a grade of 70 or below and need to be resurfaced or rehabilitated immediately. The cost to resurface these roads, excluding rehabilitation, would cost an estimated $8.4 million at today’s rate of $85,000 per mile.
In addition, another 248 miles of the roads graded between 71 and 79 and would require an additional $21 million to repair.
For these two categories alone, the estimated cost of resurfacing is $29.5 million.
Morgan County received funding from the 2000 state bridge replacement program to replace nine bridges. The county currently has 117 bridges on inventory. Of these 30 are categorized as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 18 of them have a sufficiency rating of less than 50 (the breaking point between replacement and. rehabilitation). The cost to replace these 18 bridges is estimated at $17.7 million.
Even though more and more heavy trucks are traveling on the county road systems, the commissions do not receive any of the statewide tax on diesel fuel, which is currently at 19-cents per gallon.