by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is looking at decreasing its operational budget for the coming fiscal year.
That decrease, according to JTA Executive Director Michael Blaylock, is directly attributable to the economy in the form of less sales tax and gas tax being generated locally.
A portion of both combines to make up a majority of JTA’s annual budget, which for fiscal 2010-11 is $92.4 million. That’s down 7.2 percent from the current fiscal year, which is down 12.9 percent from fiscal 2008-09.
Blaylock has a solution that wouldn’t just keep JTA operating at current levels. The solution would allow JTA to complete many of the road projects within the Better Jacksonville Plan that are on hold and plan for future expansion and development.
“The real problem for me is that in 2016, the gas tax is supposed to go away,” said Blaylock after Thursday’s JTA board meeting at which the board approved the budget. “If we do not extend it, it will create a serious situation.”
The current gas tax is 5 cents a gallon, a tax that was approved in 1986 by City Council. Despite the fact the tax doesn’t sunset for another five years, Blaylock wants to bring the issue to Council as soon as possible.
“I think we need to do it now,” he said.
According to Blaylock, the tax is specific to Duval County and pumps about $30 million into JTA’s budget. He said local sales tax revenue also goes to JTA, which allows the authority to pay on its debt service.
The struggling economy has failed to yield the expected sales tax revenue, which hasn’t allowed JTA to pay down on its debt service as much as Blaylock would like. The prospect of losing $30 million and lower-than-expected sales tax revenue has forced Blaylock to look at the future.
“The prudent thing would be to extend it by an additional three or four cents,” he said. “The addition of additional revenue would help unfunded Better Jacksonville Plan road projects and assist the City.”
David Cohen, chief legal counsel for JTA, said the public would actually benefit from extending the tax, which would be in effect for another 30 years from the time it’s approved by Council.
“We could pay down on our outstanding bond issues and the community would benefit because we could refinance them at a lower rate,” said Cohen. “It would be impossible to do that without the reauthorization of the gas tax. It would save as much as 2.5 percent interest over the life of the bond.”
Cohen speculated that 2.5 percent would translate to somewhere between $10 million and $50 million.
Blaylock doesn’t think selling the public on not just extending the gas tax, but raising it, would be that difficult. He believes the work JTA has done around Jacksonville is convincing enough.
Blaylock specifically cited the Wonderwood Expressway project and the new Beach Boulevard bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway as examples of JTA projects that benefit thousands of people daily. A majority of those projects were funded through bonds which are paid off through the sales tax and the gas tax.
“I think the public appreciates the results and sees the results,” said Blaylock, adding he will begin meeting with Council members to discuss the extension and JTA will also put together a public awareness campaign. He said it’s important to address the issue through both the Council and the public.
“City Council is reflective of its constituents,” said Blaylock.
Also at the meeting, JTA engineer John Davis addressed the much-debated “FIND Island” on the Neptune Beach side of the Intracoastal Waterway just south of Atlantic Boulevard. Davis made a point of correcting a misconception about the massive pile of dirt.
“The spoil material is not from a JTA project,” he said. “It’s from a St. Johns River Water Management District dredging project,” he said.
According to Davis, one of the issues holding up the removal of the dirt was a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers that would allow a contractor to access the mound from the road.
“They are inclined to permit that access road now,” he said.
Davis said he expects the permits to be approved in mid-June. JTA then will issue a request for proposal for a contractor to haul the dirt away.
“They can remove the soil by any means they choose,” said Davis. “We will provide the access road.”
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