Monongalia delegate wants legislative action on roads

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County legislators hope for renewed interest in Charleston to empower counties to raise revenue for road maintenance and construction.

A proposal in the 2015 legislative session stalled in a Senate finance committee.  A House bill was also drafted but according to Del. Joe Statler (R-Monongalia) it didn’t gather major support.

Delegate Joe Statler (R-Monongalia)
Delegate Joe Statler (R-Monongalia) supports home rule for WV counties.

“It became quite evident  through conversations I had with fellow delegates it was not going to move anywhere on the House side unless it had a referendum on it allowing the county taxpayers to make that final decision,” Statler told Hoppy Kercheval on MetroNews “Talkline” Tuesday morning.

The initial wording of the legislation called for allowing county commissioners, through home rule, to increase taxes or fees to generate revenue for road projects.

Twenty cities in the state have already been granted home rule authority.  Municipalities must develop and present their plans on how they will use home rule.  The Home Rule Board can approve or deny the request.

Statler supports the idea that would give county commissioners that same authority.

“I really like some of the aspects of the home rule for the counties and the fact that it would not only pertain to roads but would open it up so of the local control can do some things to help themselves with other problems within the counties.”

When a 1 percent sales tax increase was mentioned during the legislative session to improve state highway many representatives called for that referendum that would give voters the final say on fee or tax increases.

“My gut feeling is that referendum would’ve failed miserably because of the condition the roads are in now.  People are simply fed up with it,” Statler predicted.

A Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways report released in May estimated it would take $1.1 billion a year to adequately address maintenance and expansion of West Virginia’s highway system.

In the 2015 legislative session, the only highway related measure lawmakers managed to approve was an audit of the state Division of Highways.

“Naturally any audit is going to show some money and the way it goes. But, what this audit to my opinion is going to be more valuable in is finding us the problems within the management of the DOH,” Statler said.

Lawmakers reconvene for the 2016 legislative session in January.  The audit findings are expected to be presented early in the session.





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