Lt. gov. supports regional funding for transportation?
December 25, 2007 at 5:22 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsHuh? Who cares, run with it!
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, speaking with the Marietta Daily-Journal in a sit-down interview on Monday:
“I believe with the same amount of funding that exists today for transportation that we could do 30 percent more projects if we become focused and create efficiencies,” he said.
A funding mechanism he would like to consider for transportation is a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, as the SPLOST has worked effectively for education, he said.
“I don’t view that as a tax increase. I view that as putting a proposal before the voters and allowing them to choose how they want to spend it,” he said.
Cagle’s comments are some of the first glimpses as to how the General Assembly may approach the touchy issue of transportation funding when the legislative session starts in January. His preferred method steps in line with what the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and many public transportation advocates have been suggesting: a regional tax that will allow the people who pony up the cash to have a large say in what happens, transportation-wise, with their money. The other ideas bandied about include a statewide tax or an increased gasoline tax.
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