By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
There’s no money and almost no time to find it. The state’s Transportation Trust Fund crisis is coming to a boil. Today’s first hearing of the Assembly Transportation Committee held at Montclair State University looked for solutions and a sustainable long-term plan.
“We need to not only make sure the consistent dedication is there and spent on capital projects, but that it’s also not overspent in any one year,” said Assemblyman John Wisniewski.
Raising the gas tax is one of the most frequently discussed and supported options. It’s held steady at 10.5 cents a gallon for almost 30 years, the second lowest in the nation.
“What is the other alternative? I don’t know. Either you borrow more, you try and refinance. But those things are just Band-Aids on a problem. You need to find a permanent revenue source that is reoccurring,” said Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto.
“Gas tax is probably the most efficient way of not only collecting the revenue but making sure it goes to transportation,” said Phil Beachum of Alliance for Action.
Labor and transportation experts today said an extra penny on the gas tax would raise about $50 million — $200 million annually. But New Jersey needs about $2 billion a year to replenish the fund. Chairman Wisniewski last week floated the idea of merging the state’s three transportation departments and looking for other efficiencies.
Wisneiwski asked, “Is there any efficacy in having all of those roads treated as one? Doing away with that distinction between state county and municipal roads?”
Hope Township Mayor Tim McDonough, past president for the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said, “I’m a big advocate there’s so much dual action in the counties and municipalities there’s a lot of things that can be combined and this is absolutely one.”
It’s unlikely any one proposal will save enough to fix the problem. Lawmakers say new revenue is needed. Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia is putting forward a concurrent resolution, allowing New Jersey to toll certain federal highways, specifically Route 78.
“This piece of legislation would be very effective to allow us to toll in the border of the states those commuters coming in from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to work. Ultimately it would generate great revenue for us. We’ve heard in the area of $20 million to $40 million,” Garcia said.
“Without question from the business community this is the single most important issue that the state legislature and administration can address,” said Tom Bracken of Forward NJ.
But what we didn’t hear today was commuters and everyday taxpayers who deal with the traffic and decaying infrastructure. Industry insiders say their polls show New Jersey residents support a gas tax and finding new revenue sources. Lawmakers say they hope to hear more at the next hearing scheduled to be held at Rutgers in October.