A $44 million plan to widen Route 26 remains in jeopardy after state legislators dismissed a bill last week that would have raised revenues to help cover a $1.5 billion shortfall in the state’s six-year plan to complete dozens of planned roadway projects statewide.
With less than two weeks remaining before state officials are asked to approve a 2008 fiscal-year budget, legislators locally expected a similar bill to be considered by late this week or early next but questioned support for many of the fee increases and called on Sussex County for local support.
A package proposed by the Gov. Ruth Ann Minner earlier this year, designed to overcome the shortfall, included toll, documentation fee and registration fee increases and a widely unpopular plan to raise the gas tax by 5 cents per gallon. The gas tax was what allegedly doomed the first bill.
“I don’t see any fee package now that is going to pass,” said Sen. George Bunting (D-20th), adding that cutting funding for projects might be “a reality. The public doesn’t want to support the money.”
Delaware Department of Transportation Spokesman Darrel Cole said there is no “Plan B” and many projects might have to be sacrificed to cover the shortfall if the entire fee package proposed by the governor earlier this year is not approved with the upcoming budget. Without adding 5 cents to the gas tax, for instance, the state would lose $29 million in projected annual revenues.
“We don’t think we’re going to be able to replace significant revenues the gas tax would show,” Cole said. “We thought this was reasonable. There are not many options,” Cole added. “We’ll have to go back and look at that six-year plan.”
Rep. Gerald Hocker (R-38th) expressed frustration this week with the lack of progress in Dover.
“What I’m upset about is I see no leadership on either side,” Hocker said, adding that he will not support a gas tax. “If one side is downing the administrations package, we should be coming up with our own. Neither party has a game plan to help DelDOT. We need to all get together, forget politics, and figure out how we’re going to bail DelDOT out and come up with a package we can agree with.”
Hocker and Bunting called for county involvement this week to help cover costs on Sussex County projects — such as Route 26 — that have been planned and anticipated for years but held in limbo throughout this period of financial uncertainty. State officials have argued that the county approves development freely without considering the financial burden on the state, which foots the bill for roads and for schools to support new residents.
“I think we need to be working in concert with the county,” Bunting said. “The county is sitting in surplus with the transfer tax. I think that is something we have to earnestly look at. (But) There’s not any political will there.”
On the back of a once-strong real estate market, the county has built what Sussex officials call a “rainy day fund” of more than $13 million, on annual surpluses that can be traced to whopping housing-industry-related revenue sources. County officials continued to push back this week, though, claiming that they should not be responsible for picking up costs that are the state’s responsibility.
“I am not in favor on working with DelDOT,” said Susan Webb, Sussex County finance director. “We’ve built our reserves because we’ve been conservative and frugal. The state has so much deeper pockets and authority. If they want it done, they can get it done. To bail them out is just ridiculous.”