When state legislators begin discussing the fiscal 2010-’11 budget, increasing the gasoline tax will be one option for more road funding.
State Rep. David Myers, D-McComb, favors the tax but said on Monday that any increase would not be shared with local government. His feelings aren’t shared by state Rep. Sam Mims, R-McComb, who said now is not the time to increase any taxes.
Speaking at a Pike County Council of Governments meeting Monday, Myers said any increase in the gas tax would go to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
“MDOT’s budget is $1.2 (billion) to $1.4 billion,” he said. “About $300 million to $400 million of that is state money. The rest is borrowed.
“If we could increase that, it would mean MDOT would receive more than we’ve given it in the past,” he said.
The gasoline tax is levied on gasoline and diesel fuel sold in Mississippi. The revenue from the tax is divided between the state and the counties. The counties receive a certain percentage of the gas tax for road and bridge work, and provide some of the tax revenue to cities for street work.
The gas tax was the only tax discussed during the meeting. Myers said afterwards that he did not anticipate any further changes in the state’s cigarette tax during the coming session. The cigarette tax was increased during the recent session.
Myers told local gathered officials he believes the state’s economy “is in pretty good shape.”
Mims, however, said he is very concerned about the economy.
“This is the worst recession we’ve seen in decades,” he said. “And all the numbers I’ve seen continue to show a decline.
“Mississippi was slower than most states to get into the recession, and it will be slow to get out of it,” he said.
Mims said the state’s revenue is declining, adding, “people are working less hours, they’re making less money, and that means they have less money to spend.”
He said the state is going to have to look at its revenue and its programs and decide how and where it will spend its money.
“There are families sitting at kitchen tables all over the state making decisions on how to spend their money, and they’re having to tell their kids, ‘We can’t afford this,’ ” Mims said.
“We’re going to have to make tough decisions,” he said. “If a county wants a project and we don’t have the money, we’re going to have to tell them ‘no.’ If the state has less money, that’s going to mean less money for the counties and less money for the cities.”
Pike County Board of Supervisors President Chuck Lambert asked Myers if the state would replace money that had been taken from the State Aid Road Fund if the gas tax was raised.
The fund provides state money for road and bridge work on some county roads. Some of the money was transferred from the fund to MDOT several years ago.
Myers said he does not believe the money would be replaced.
Lambert also asked Myers about cuts to state agencies such as the departments of Human Services, Health and Mental Health. He said the Legislature needs to put more thought into the funding for those agencies.
“When you cut those agencies, they come to us looking for help,” Lambert said. “And our budgets are tight. This year, we couldn’t help them, because we didn’t have the money.”
Supervisor Lexie Elmore asked Myers and Mims about the state’s unfunded mandates. “When are you going to stop them?” she asked.
Mims said after the meeting that the federal government needs to stop sending such mandates to the state, and the state needs to stop sending unfunded mandates to the local governments.
Lambert also asked the lawmakers to allow the counties to look at other funding sources besides property tax.
