Missourians weigh road taxes issues

From staff and wire reports

Tara Smith of Cape Girardeau does a lot of traveling.

The 18-year-old student uses at least three full tanks of gas every week driving to Chaffee, Mo., and back to see her fiancé.

But if a 4-cent fuel tax increase is approved in an Aug. 6 election, Smith may have to find a way to cut back on the number of times she makes the trip.

The proposed transportation taxes that will be on the ballot would raise the state's fuel tax from 17 cents per gallon to 21 cents a gallon and the sales tax by one-half cent to 4.725 cents on a dollar.

It doesn't outline specific projects to be funded by an increase in gasoline and sales taxes, although state transportation officials say they plan to compile a list of possible projects.

Smith said she would vote no because of the monetary impact it would have on her.

Frances Nash depends on Interstate 70 for her livelihood.

The interstate, crossing Missouri from Kansas City in the west to St. Louis in the east, brings travelers to the western Missouri outlet mall where Nash works -- and she hears them grumble about the road's condition.

"They talk about looking for other routes, so they won't have to go through Missouri," Nash said as she straightened the shelves at the bookstore she manages.

She can't blame them -- "I-70's falling totally apart," she says.

"It sounds like a rip-off to me," Nash said. "If I'm paying money for something, I want to know what I'm paying it for."

Wasting money

Jason King of Sikeston believes the state should use the money it already has.

"They waste enough money as it is," King said.

King works in the construction business in Sikeston and travels to Cape Girardeau only once or twice a month.

He said a small raise in fuel prices wouldn't make much of a difference for him, but he would still vote no because he thinks the state could find money without raising taxes.

Kenneth Joy of Cape Girardeau works in retail. He said the state will find one way or another to raise taxes if that's what it wants to do.

"Living in these days, in these times, with what we've been through taxes are going to go up everywhere," he said. "We can be mad, but we're not going to have a choice in the matter."

He said the fuel tax would impact a lot of people, especially those who make frequent trips out of town.

"I just came back from St. Louis this weekend and gas there was $1.36," he said. "If they raise it more it's going to effect a lot of people. They're going to have to start talking about carpooling or something."

Sara Blacklock, who manages the tasting room at the winery of Bristle Hill Vineyards, in the tiny Montserrat community east of Warrensburg, said the roads need to be fixed, but she wants to know which ones she'd be paying for.

"In this day and age, people don't always trust the government," she said. "They want specifics -- I do, anyway."

When she goes into Kansas City, an hour to the west, Blacklock said she avoids I-70 entirely.

"I take U.S. 50 all the way," she said. "I don't like I-70. The scenery's nicer on 50, it's in better shape and you don't have all those trucks."

Demanding specifics

Will Stewart lives along Missouri 13 near Bolivar, in southwest Missouri.

From the front lawn of his one-story brick home, he can see construction crews working to convert 5.6 miles of highway to four lanes.

It's among the state's deadliest stretches -- Stewart said 18 people have died within one mile of his house since he moved in eight years ago -- but he's also against the tax package.

The lack of specifics bothers him, he said, and he also doesn't believe that the state -- which only a few years ago was mailing out tax refunds under the Hancock Amendment -- is as financially strapped as Gov. Bob Holden and the legislature claim.

"I can't support giving them more money until they do a better job of using what they already get," he said.

Some, like Sue Minor, oppose the tax package for business reasons.

Minor, owner of Ruth's Flowers and Gifts in Marshfield, now charges between $1 and $10 -- depending on location -- for deliveries.

Her store operates one vehicle most of the year; on holidays she can have four to six vehicles making deliveries.

"We run a lot of deliveries, and we cover a lot of miles, so it will affect us," she said.

Minor said she probably would be forced to pass the cost increase on to her customers -- and she worries that instability in the Middle East could cause gas prices to rise again.

"I think people are tired of being taxed," Minor said. "I support taxes for schools, but that's about it. It would be nice if this didn't go through."