ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
With a crisis over funding for Valley Metro quickly approaching, Roanoke City Council and the county Board of Supervisors are hoping to "educate" area state lawmakers who've ignored their pleas for a local-option gas tax.
The two elected bodies agreed Tuesday to appoint a committee of business leaders and residents whose job would include convincing local members of the House of Delegates of the need for a transportation authority that could tax gasoline within its boundaries.
The revenue - more than $1.4 million annually from a 2 percent gasoline tax - would be used to replace steeply declining federal subsidies for the bus service, the valley's only form of public transportation.
Roanoke Valley members of the House of Delegates turned a cold shoulder to a similar proposal this year. Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, sponsored a bill last year. But he introduced it "by request," a term in Richmond that means even its sponsor doesn't expect it to be taken seriously.
The city-county action was agreed to during a quarterly luncheon meeting between the city and county governing bodies.
"A critical time is coming in this valley ... where there are enormous federal cutbacks in subsidies [for Valley Metro]," Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said. Unless the state creates a transportation district and allows it to levy gas taxes, "you can raise fares, and I don't think that's a very realistic option; you can raise real estate taxes, and I don't think that's a very realistic option; or you could just end the bus service. I don't think that's a very realistic option, either," Bowers said.
"I don't think we have an option," said county board Chairman Bob Johnson. "We can't see Valley Metro die. I think our citizens would be ill-served. I think they're being ill-served now by members of the General Assembly and Congress."
The two panels agreed that each would appoint three residents to a committee for "educational purposes."
The members would include business leaders - many of whose employees ride the bus to work - civic leaders, and other valley residents. The panels hope to raise the drumbeat for a gas tax and bring pressure on the lawmakers.
If such a tax were approved, each locality would have to reduce real estate taxes by the same amount the gas tax raised in revenue. Thus, while drivers would be subsidizing bus riders, real estate owners would see a corresponding cut in their taxes.
But education may not do much good. A local lawmaker who is one of the most powerful legislators in Richmond said he's diametrically opposed to a local gas tax because it creates gas-price and tax disparities across the state.
"I'm not supportive of a local-option gas tax for metropolitan areas," said House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton. "If there's a problem with funding, it ought to be dealt with on a statewide basis. We don't need to be Balkanizing the gas-tax structure. It creates problems for gasoline dealers."
In defeating Edwards' bill last year, the General Assembly agreed to study the issue, which is affecting every other Virginia city that has federally subsidized bus companies.
In fiscal year 1995, the federal government paid $957,000 to subsidize Valley Metro's roughly 5,000 daily riders, while the city paid $407,000. The federal subsidy has dropped to $574,000 this year. Meanwhile, city taxpayers' tab has more than doubled, to $833,000. The federal subsidies are expected to dry up over the next two years.
Dels. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum and Vic Thomas, both Roanoke Democrats and members of the House Appropriations Committee, were out of town on state business and could not be reached for comment. Edwards also was out of town and couldn't be reached.
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