TRANSPORTATION BOND ACT DESERVES “NO” VOTE
By Bob Confer

Most anyone will readily admit that many roads across New York State are in disrepair. Locally it is a major issue of concern, as a ride through certain sections of Niagara County will make you feel as if you’ve driven across a war zone. Repairs of the County’s lumpy expressways and the myriad potholed streets found throughout the three cities of this county rank highly on many drivers’ wish lists. Our County is not alone as municipalities across the Empire State cry foul over their thoroughfares as well.

The State appears to be well aware of everyone’s concerns and earlier this year drafted the grandiose five-year,  $35.8 billion Transportation Capital Plan. The plan (which can be viewed on the Department of Transportation’s website) is summarized by 135 pages of line items that address anything from road maintenance to bridge repairs. This bloated plan, full of wishful thinking and impossible deadlines, is pork barrel spending at its finest. It features some warranted expenditures but in most cases taxpayer dollars are inappropriately squandered away, as millions of dollars are directed at numerous healthy bridges and cutesy biking and hiking trails that are nice to have but far from necessary.    

The plan is nothing more than unrestrained state spending, something our taxpayers have become far too familiar with. The funding for this plan is an add-on to existing budget levels, which will ultimately force the state to raise taxes and/or tolls. Our current tax burden is $4,645 per capita, the highest in the nation. We do not need further burden, especially if it is earmarked for frivolous items like the Western Gateway Center in Schenectady ($7.1 million), the Onondaga Lake Canalway Trail ($8.4 million) and the Onondaga Creekwalk ($6.3 million). It brings up the old, frustrating mantra: our leaders should plan how to save money, not plan how to spend it.

Knowing full well that the taxpayers cannot pay through the teeth up front for this deal, the State is leaning towards borrowing some of the necessary funds. The powers that be are planning to create over $13.2 billion in quick cash by borrowing through state authorities. Furthermore, the Legislature is offering to the voters a proposal on the November ballot called the “Transportation Bond Act.” If passed, this would allow the State to borrow another $2.9 billion. Doing so would bring New York’s total debt – which is already twice the national average - to a staggering $50 billion. This will cause our taxes to escalate further down the road as we pay off these debts.

Voting “no” on the Bond Act will make a statement. Not only will it show Albany that the voters are disgusted by our debt load, but, it will also force the state to reassess the entire Transportation Capital Plan. The Legislature will be required to pare away numerous projects and extend the overall timeframe of the plan beyond its completely unrealistic five-year period, ensuring it is done in a more reasonable and economic fashion. 

It is important that the voters assess the Transportation Capital Plan and its associated Bond Act before heading into the voting booth on November 8. There exists a great deal of good in the plan, but it is burdened by many poor allocations and the ills of higher taxes and higher debt. Any drivers, bikers or hikers who find themselves conflicted over the benefits of the bill need only ask two questions: how important are these repairs? And, to make them occur, would you be willing to give away even more of your hard earned dollars to Albany?