Funding parity becomes issue in state transportation debate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In a speech last month on the new federal highway bill he will play a pivotal role in drafting, U.S. Sen. Kit Bond said that Missouri currently gets back only 91 cents for every dollar it pays into the federal transportation trust fund.

Many in the audience, which included representatives of both urban and rural groups with a stake in transportation, nodded in agreement that it wasn't fair for Missouri tax dollars to be supporting other states.

When it comes to the distribution of state transportation money, however, the notion that certain regions of Missouri should receive funding closer to amounts they contribute in taxes seems to have few supporters.

The issue is at the heart of St. Louis-area opposition to the Missouri State Highways and Transportation Commission's plans to scrap the current policy of allocating half of the available transportation funds for St. Louis and Kansas City projects while using the other half to fix roads and bridges in the rest of the state.

The commission is considering four new distribution options, all of which seek to take geography out of the mix and set priorities based on need. However, since the state's worst roads and bridges are in rural areas, a greater share of highway spending is expected to flow to these parts of Missouri. The commission is expected to make a decision Friday.

Vocal opposition

St. Louis County Executive Buzz Westfall has been a vocal opponent of ending the 50-50 split. During a Monday hearing on the subject, Westfall said the region is already doing its part to support projects in the rest of the state.

Westfall said the region gets back only 83 cents for every dollar it provides to the state road fund. The St. Louis area's take would drop to as low as 73 cents on the dollar under the proposed distribution options, he said.

"It is hard to understand how we can be considered greedy when we're only getting 83 cents on the dollar and are the economic engine of the state," Westfall said.

Westfall said on Tuesday that his figures aren't scientific but are based on the assumption that the St. Louis area generates at least 40 percent of Missouri's transportation taxes and the fact that it currently receives 33 percent of that money for highway projects. If anything, Westfall said, his estimate of 83 cents on the dollar is high.

As the state's most populous region, the St. Louis area has the responsibility of helping support endeavors around the state and doesn't expect to get back every dollar it gives, Westfall said. However, he sees an element of hypocrisy among those who decry the fact that Missouri doesn't get back every dollar it pays to the federal highway fund while not seeing problem with the St. Louis area's donor status at home.

"If rural folks think we are getting cheated by only getting 91 cents on the dollar (in federal money), how would they feel if they lived in St. Louis where we get only 83 cents on the dollar (in state money)," Westfall said.

Disputed numbers

However, Farm Bureau lobbyist Estil Fretwell disputes the claims of Westfall and others as to the extent of the St. Louis' tax contribution.

"There has to be a challenge to the numbers St. Louis is quoting," Fretwell said. "We don't have the ability to track where fuel tax is paid in the state."

A better measurement, he said, is the number of vehicle miles traveled on Missouri roads.

"About 60 percent of the vehicle miles traveled are in rural areas. Logic then says these taxes are being collected where people are driving," Fretwell said.

Farm Bureau has been at odds with the highways commission since it adopted the 50-50 split in 1998 and supports the abandonment of that policy, which it deems as arbitrary and inherently political. The commission's focus, the group maintains, should be on fixing the worst roads first.

Whatever the commission's decision, considering the divergence of views among urban and rural interests as to what constitutes "fair," the funding distribution issue is likely to remain a hot political issue.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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