TRANSPORTATION TOPIC AT COFFEE

Farm Bureau President Charles Kruse would like to have some answers from the Total Transportation Commission (TTC).

The TTC, the governor's special commission, has recommended a 1-cent sales tax increase to finance an array of transportation projects.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions," said Kruse, a farmer in the Dexter area.

Kruse will be guest speaker at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee on Friday.

The 7:30 a.m. session will be held at the Show Me Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus.

Kruse said Wednesday he will discuss the 15-year highway plan developed in 1992 and the TTC's proposed additional 1-cent transportation tax.

The TTC proposal would raise an initial $575 million annually and would be subject to a statewide vote if put on the ballot by the Legislature.

A recent poll, conducted by the Missouri Farm Bureau at the Missouri State Fair, indicated 70 percent of those participating in the poll favored the 15-year plan, which was approved by the Missouri General Assembly in 1992. The plan was to be funded by a 6-cent-per-gallon increase in the state's fuel tax.

But ... 70 percent of the poll participants opposed the proposed 1-cent tax.

"You would think if Missourians supported the 15-year highway plan, they would also support a 1-cent sales tax for transportation," said Kruse. "This highlights the real gap that exists with the work of the TTC over the past several months.

The TTC, in its final report to the governor's office, was unresponsive to the pledge made to taxpayers in the 15-year plan, said Kruse.

"The TTC all but ignored the 15-year plan," he said. "This was a promise made to the people of this state and it's a promise that should be kept."

The citizens of Missouri agree, according to the Farm Bureau's straw poll, said Kruse.

"The TTC never really addressed the key issues and never had an objective conversation about the 15-year plan," said Kruse.

"We shouldn't let the sate renege on a promise made in exchange for taxes that Missourians have paid for five years and continue to pay today," said Kruse.

"I think to restore credibility to the whole process, some real hard questions must be asked and objective answers must be delivered," added Kruse.

The commission has said that the 15-year plan for highways is underfunded by a projected $14 billion, mostly because its backers five years ago didn't add the cost of inflation and changes in the scope of projects.