In a recent editorial (Use surplus transfer funds for roads), the Cape Gazette urged the Sussex County Council to hold a hearing to obtain input from the public concerning the use of significant surplus revenue received from the transfer tax imposed on real estate sales. The editorial pointed out that county staff has suggested several uses for this surplus revenue, to include extra funding for fire and rescue operations, public library capital projects, open space acquisition, acquisition of land for paramedic facilities, additional funding for an economic development loan program and funding for other capital projects such as a business park in Seaford. The editorial suggested that additional Funding Accelerating Safety in Transportation Program funding be added to the mix, noting that County Administrator Todd Lawson had indicated that traffic is the single largest concern heard from the public.
As explained below, I agree completely with the editorial that additional FAST Program funding should be a serious contender for the use of a significant portion of the surplus tax revenue received by the county.
How taxpayer dollars are used by municipal governments is probably one of the more contentious areas elected officials will deal with, and it requires critical thinking and great attention to detail to compare and analyze the various candidates for the use of surplus revenue before deciding upon what will be the best investment choices to make on behalf of the taxpayer. The taxpayer should reasonably expect that the county council’s processes in this area will be transparent, that it will comply with the applicable authorities, that it will base its decisions only on a properly developed record, and that it will provide a full explanation for its decision-making and the choices it makes among the various competing candidates for the use of these surplus funds.
Why using a significant portion of the surplus revenue for providing additional funding to the FAST program is an excellent use of these funds:
As the editorial noted, adequacy of the county roads is the number one concern of the public. Using at least some of the surplus revenue from the transfer tax also makes good tax policy sense, since the driver of this revenue is primarily the prolific common-interest community development that is now occurring in the county. Once completed, these developments will greatly increase the usage of the county roads, many of which are currently deemed to be inadequate for the use of the current population. The county also currently lacks effective tools to address the cumulative negative impact that these developments have on the county’s infrastructure, to include its roads.
It is, therefore, appropriate from a tax policy perspective to utilize this revenue source to improve the roads that are being further burdened by these developments. Finally, and perhaps most important from an investment perspective, is that funds contributed to the FAST program allow the county to select the projects currently on the table; this will expedite the construction of the road improvements that are greatly needed by the residents and visitors to the county, and the county will receive full reimbursement from DelDOT upon completion of the project. A win-win by anyone’s definition.
A good example of FAST program projects to consider are the projects contemplated for SR24. DelDOT describes SR24 as “one of the few major east/west connector roads for local and beach traffic moving across the state. . . . The massive growth in permanent residents and beach goers alike has degraded the level of service to unacceptable levels and as such the department is committed to improving the roadway facilities.” The SR24 projects meet all the selection criteria for the FAST program and should be seriously considered as a top candidate for the use of a significant portion of the surplus transfer tax revenue.
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