WESTFIELD — Opponents of a ballot question that would repeal a new law linking future increases in the state gas tax to the rate of inflation say the question would undermine efforts to fix crumbling Massachusetts roads and bridges.
Under the law the gasoline tax jumped 3 cents, from 21 cents per gallon to 24 cents.
The ballot question would leave the 3-cent hike in place, but eliminate the portion of the law linking future increases to inflation.
Opponents of the question, including construction companies and unions, have already pumped more than $950,000 into the effort to defeat the measure. Supporters have raised less than $70,000.
At-large City Councilor Dan Allie has been working for over a year to get the question placed on the November ballot, gathering signatures and distributing flyers regarding all manners of taxation and the state of the Commonwealth’s roads.
Again a candidate for State Representative in the 4th Hampden District this fall, Allie believes there are better ways to fix the state’s roads, specifically by increasing local aid to fiscal year 2007 levels and to ask the state to increase funding for road maintenance and repair.
“This past March, the state passed a $12.5 billion bond bill, but the Governor only allocated $200 million for the entire state for road maintenance, which is not very much money,” said Allie. “We have a significant increase in the gas tax. There is still money remaining from a $3.5 billion bond bill. The money is there and the problem with tying it to inflation is the taxing mechanism – it’s taxation without representation.”
Allie said that no cuts are necessary to fund necessary infrastructure repairs statewide.
“It’s a matter of priorities. At the local level what ends up happening, when you combine it with Westfield losing a $1 million a year from the lottery fund, we start in the hole by a million dollars,” he said. “It’s almost unbelievable that they (the state) can take that money and get away with it, but not enough people know what they’re doing.”
He added that the city has 400 miles of roads in need of repairs but that Westfield’s $1.3 million budget for road repairs isn’t nearly adequate.
“That’ll only fix two and a half miles of roads. It’ll take 175 years to fix the roads,” Allie said. “The money is there. It is priorities.”
Allie said expects the measure to pass unanimously.
“The sky is going to fall, the bridges are going to deteriorate… it’s mularkey,” he said of the views held by opponents of the question. “I don’t think anybody buys into that.”
Current legislators like state Sen. Don Humason, Jr., R-Westfield, have advocated against what has been referred to as a “forever tax” since last summer.
“It (the tax) removes legislative oversight. It removes accountability. It’s problematic,” said Humason last August. “It’s taxation without representation, and any time we raise taxes, there should be accountability.”
“By putting it on the ballot, it lets the people decide if they want to see this tax increase every year,” said.
While Republicans have vehemently opposed indexing the gas tax, rural western Mass. Democrats have been balancing the need to fund critical road and bridge repairs with the knowledge that their constituents rely on their vehicles – and gasoline – almost exclusively to get to work.
“I represent 20 communities and, in one of those towns (Lee), there are several bridges that need repairs, at the cost of $1 million apiece,” said Rep. William Smitty Pignatelli, D-Lenox, last summer. “How can a town of only 6,000 people pay for that with only it’s own tax dollars? There isn’t a city or town in this state that doesn’t have some road or bridge in poor condition.”
