Commentary by Larry Lannan
The Indiana General Assembly did the Fishers community a big favor with actions tied to school funding, but another crisis looms for Fishers and other local communities throughout the state. Indiana’s method of funding street and road work is in serious need of change.
State lawmakers declared the 2015 session as one aimed at education funding. The actual amount of new money was substantial, but not dramatic. What did change was the formula to pass out the funds available, providing more to school districts with growing enrollments, like Hamilton Southeastern Schools.
State legislative leaders are already saying the 2016 session will be aimed at dealing with the deficit between the need to keep our road network in good shape and the money available to do it. In the past, the gasoline tax has been essentially a user fee system – the more you use the roads, the more you pay to build and maintain the road system.
However, that model is no longer viable with the fuel efficient vehicles we see on our streets today. That means fewer gallons of fuel are used, and results in lower gasoline tax collections.
Sadly, there are no good and easy answers to this problem. One approach would be to increase the gasoline tax or find some other source of revenue to pay for streets and roads.
Another idea being floated would not tax you on the gasoline you buy, but based on the number of miles you drive. The technological barriers and intrusiveness of such a system are major drawbacks.
In September of last year, then Fishers Town Manager Scott Fadness told town council members the gap between the need for road and street maintenance and the funds available under state law was widening. Keeping our road infrastructure in good shape is a core responsibility of government.
Let’s keep an eye on how our legislators choose to deal with this issue.
