Voters Stuck On Beaten Path

If you think Spokane’s most heavily traveled streets are in bad shape now, wait until spring. This community has potholes in its future. Potholes, ruts, washboard bumps, the works.

On Tuesday, Spokane voters said a loud “no” to a property tax increase that would have paid for $37 million worth of improvements to the city’s arterials.

Even those of us who supported the bond issue know property taxes are a less-than-ideal way to raise money for street improvements.

But better methods weren’t available. One of the fairest ways to raise money for roads is the gasoline tax, because the more you drive, the more you pay. Vehicle license charges are a fair user fee as well. However, local voters have rejected a gas tax increase that would have funded road maintenance. A proposal to boost license fees also has been shot down. Plus, street funds Spokane once got from state and federal gas taxes have withered, due to changes beyond local control.

That left the property tax option. Now it’s off the table, too.

What’s left? Nothing that can provide significant near-term relief.

Yes, the City Council could make a higher budget priority of street patching. But the Band-Aid fund can’t cover major surgery, and local arterials need major rebuilding. And giving more to streets means less for police, fire, parks and libraries.

Remaining remedies require action by the state Legislature, never a sure bet. The same trends that dried up Spokane’s road money also dried up money for other cities. So, cities may ask the Legislature next year for help. The avenues include: Roughly half of the state’s motor vehicle excise tax goes to non-transportation purposes in the general fund. The state budget is heading for a surplus. There ought to be enough slack to dedicate more of the excise tax to basic city road maintenance.

Spokane Transit Authority has a $37 million reserve account, but under current state law, it cannot be spent on general road maintenance. Granted, buses do reduce the number of cars on the road and they are a part of local transportation infrastructure, too. The reserves cover bus replacement. But buses damage city streets in the same way semitrucks pound interstate freeways. Transit reserves ought to be made available to help with the cost of road maintenance along bus routes.

Legislators often are reluctant to help communities that decline to help themselves.

But the inadequacies of urban roads and of the state’s transportation funding mechanisms are a valid statewide issue. State aid will be slow in coming, if it comes at all, yet it must be sought. Meanwhile, plan to buy new shocks for the family sedan.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster For the editorial board