Toll Roads Help Central Austin

Sal Costello is pissed that TXDOT has bribed the City of Austin with rebates on previously spent right-of-way money if they agree not to oppose these roads’ tolling.

As I’ve noted in draft form (I now hopefully have the motivation to go back and finish those posts – as I do, see the bottom of this post for links), huge chunks of bond money approved between 1997 and 2000 by City of Austin and Travis County voters were designated for “local participation” in projects like SH130, SH45, Loop1, US183, SH71, and US290 freeway and tollway extensions and expansions. This “local participation” boiled down to (in most cases) 10% of right-of-way costs + utility relocation. Doesn’t sound like much, but it added up to tens of millions of dollars each time.
What’s the rub? The city and county don’t get any money from gasoline taxes. These bonds will be repaid using city and county funds, which effectively means property and sales taxes (or in the city’s case, utility slush funds paid back by electric customers).

Note: You pay this bill no matter how much or how little you drive; no matter how efficient or inefficient your car; no matter whether you take the bus, ride your bike, or walk.

And guess who pays the most, proportionally, in property taxes? Here’s a hint: My small lot in central Austin is valued far higher than the comparatively vast Steiner Ranch lot of one of my cow orkers; more than the huge lot of one of my friends on “The Mountain”; heck, more than Sal Costello’s lot in Circle C. Most of the costs associated with city and county spending are related more to the size of the area covered rather than population density, by the way. And Sal’s getting far more lane-miles and far wider streets for his $0.50 than I am for my $1.35.

Accepting this rebate from TXDOT helps Central Austin. Of course, it requires Sal and his Circle C buddies to start paying more of their fair share instead of being subsidized by the central city (we’ll still subsidize you with our gasoline taxes when we do drive, but the property and sales tax subsidization will drop dramatically). So you can understand why the southwest and northwest Austinites are so ticked off, even if they hide behind the baloney claims of “double taxation” (I paid to park at Zilker Park last weekend; was I “double taxed”?)

Responsible City Council members should ignore this caterwauling and do what’s best for the fiscal interest of the city – which means tolling roads used disproportionately by people who either don’t pay any city taxes (because they live outside city limits) or pay relatively little. If you want less sprawl and a healthy center city, please make your voice heard.

Past highway spending in bond elections (added as I finish them over the day):

• 2000 City of Austin bond package – $90 million for highway matches
• 2001 Travis County Bond Election – this one is the big one for the county
• 1997 Travis County Bond Election – smaller one for the county