Questions about project funding and the accountability of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance (NVTA) dominated Tuesday's debate on the regional sales-tax referendum. The debate, held at Fairfax City Hall, was attended by a handful of Fairfax citizens.
While supporters of the referendum argued that the revenue would remain in Northern Virginia in large part because of the NVTA, detractors said there's no guarantee that the money raised would stay within the area. They also argued that because the NVTA is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, the scheduled projects such as the funding for the Dulles corridor transit and improvements to Route 7 are tentative and subject to change once the referendum passes.
If passed, the sales tax increase would generate about $5 billion in over 20 years, with roughly $140 million coming in during the first year of collection.
The referendum comes at a time when Gov. Mark Warner (D) is considering further cuts to Virginia's budget. Just under $4 billion was cut during the last session of the General Assembly, said Del. Jeannemarie A. Devolites (R-35). Warner also announced Tuesday that there will be an additional $858 million chopped from the budget in emergency spending cuts. These cuts will affect the Department of Motor Vehicles, higher education, and state-run community services and liquor stores.
Because of these cuts, Devolites argued that now is the perfect time for the referendum, because the money will stay in Northern Virginia. All the revenue from the tax will go to NVTA, a business-citizen coalition comprised of mayors, local business leaders and citizens. The NVTA will govern which projects will receive money and how much funding they should get.
"The legislation [for the referendum] was done in the manner that we know where the dollars will be spent," Devolites said.
DEL. RICHARD H. BLACK (R-32) disagreed, arguing that in past experience, money designated for transportation improvements has ended up in the general revenue fund where it's spent for something else. Black recalled a 1986 law where the half-cent sales tax flowed into the transportation trust fund, only to flow out into the general fund.
Instead of the referendum, which he called a "band-aid," Black suggested that a constitutional amendment should be made to prohibit raids against the transportation trust fund.
"The money goes in, the money drains out," Black said, likening it to a hole in the bucket.
While Black argued about where the money ends up, Sen. Kenneth Cuccinelli (R-37) said he didn't support the referendum because he questioned the NVTA. He said the NVTA won't be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. As a result, no member, except for the mayor, is accountable to the citizens it governs. It also means that the project schedule can change at the members' whim.
"This is not like your city council, this is not like your Board of Supervisors," Cuccinelli said.
Cuccinelli also said he thought the people most likely to benefit from the NVTA were its donors and others who would patronize member politicians. Without the Freedom of Information Act, citizens wouldn't be able to see these operations.
"We won't know who's getting the contracts," Cuccinelli said.
Devolites countered Cuccinelli's misgivings of the NVTA, saying that because the NVTA will include legislators working together, member actions are accountable to citizens. The proposed projects also all come from the 2020 Plan, a transportation plan for Northern Virginia determined and agreed by several area jurisdictions.
She added that those against the plan haven't come up with alternate solutions to pay for these projects.
"What this debate is about is how to come up with this money," Devolites said.
DEBATERS also discussed the referendum's funding of mass transit. Forty percent of the projects are mass transit related, according to Devolites.
"In order to reduce traffic gridlock we need to find alternate means of transportation," Devolites said.
Cuccinelli questioned why so much spending will go towards mass transit, since only 7 percent of workers use mass transit. He argued that because the routes don't go where most people work, the money should be spent on projects that impact more people.
"Land-use planning and execution are more useful," Cuccinelli said.
Devolites argued that the proposed Dulles rail and other projects like additional parking for mass transit would give citizens more options that hadn't existed before.
"We are giving this opportunity for people to take mass transit. … This benefits people in Fairfax City because many people don't work in the city," Devolites said.
At the debate's close, Black and Cuccinelli reiterated their request for citizens to vote no on the referendum.
"Doing something without a plan in place doesn't necessarily get you anywhere," Cuccinelli said.
Devolites said the plan has bipartisan support, and legislators like United States Rep. Tom Davis (R-11), U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) and U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) support the referendum.
"We need all the dollars we can get in northern Virginia," Devolites said.