Author of proposed tax increase to improve roads says accountability will be required

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A state delegate who has proposed a one percent increase to the sales tax in order to fund road improvements has not quite received the response he anticipated.

Patsy Trecost
Patsy Trecost

“To my surprise, not getting any flack about that,” Del. Patsy Trecsot (D – Harrison, 48) said on Tuesday’s edition of the MetroNews-affiliated program “The Mike Queen Show.” “The concern is ‘Patsy, how do you make sure that 100 percent of the money goes to the roads?'”

Trecost believes people don’t mind investing in their state’s infrastructure, but past experiences with previous tax money supposedly earmarked for roads with no results have conditioned those people to not trust that it will be different this time around.

“That’s the obstacle I’m fighting right now, getting people to trust that we will put 100 percent of the money, if you give us more, into the roads,” he said.

A bump in Trecosts road to a destination of trust is the recent criticism from both legislators and the public over the purchase of new signage along I-79 from Charleston to Wallback, when the current signs seemingly are still in good condition.

He acknowledges that a sales tax is simply not enough, but must be supplemented with accountability for those charged with the public funds.

“That’s where you have to hope that when [House Speaker Tim Armstead] pushed the initiative to do that audit of the Division of Highways, that we’re going to start prioritizing things correctly.”

Trecost is not critical of the DOH overall, saying that the workers are simply limited in what they can accomplish with the resources they have.

“If you or I or anyone else calls down there with an issue, they’ll eventually get to it,” he said. “Of course, it comes down to money and manpower.”

Ultimately, he said something has to be done soon or drivers in West Virginia will be spending money without any of it going to the roads.

“People that go to work, people that take their children to school, that go to the grocery store to provide for their family –and I’ve said it before– can’t afford to keep hitting $800 potholes because it’s just not in their budget.”





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