Across Maryland, local roadway crews are plowing snow to clear community roadways — part and parcel of the business of local government. Our citizens demand and deserve good, safe, and clear roads and bridges.
However, all too many of those local roads are covered with pock marks and potholes.
State support for local roads has nearly evaporated in recent years. Counties have no local transportation revenue options — so they look to the property tax, already weakened by a real estate decline.
Local roads are being left behind — and every storm event requiring local funds to plow and clear these essential roads makes the problem worse.
Maryland’s policy leaders are now focusing on transportation funding. If a new transportation investment is made, among the most important decisions is whether the plan should focus exclusively on major state highways and transit projects.
Motorists deserve better than that. Five out of every six road miles in the state are maintained by local governments — these are the roads our kids take to school, that get us to our jobs, and that get us home safely.
A plan that ignores this high priority is not a fair plan for Maryland citizens, who may be asked to pay more at the pump and expect their familiar roadways to be supported.
In Annapolis, there’s time to decide what the priorities are. Everyone now seems to believe that a transportation “lockbox” is essential — and the counties agree.
We agree particularly because the transportation funds that have been redirected to other purposes have been the local Highway User Revenues that used to support local roads and bridges.
That share of the gas tax got slashed in 2009 during the depths of the great recession — and was never scheduled to be repaid.
Counties recognized the unfortunate need for state budget-cutting during these toughest of times, but even today they still see only a nickel on the dollar of previous funding levels.
The momentum for the lockbox idea underlies the importance of local roads, and this “contract” with the motorists that they will benefit from their gas taxes.
If a new financing plan comes together, leaders in Annapolis need to bring a fair share of those funds back to Main Street.
Any plan without this is incomplete, and unfair to millions of Marylanders that count on quality county roadways.
Richard M. Pollitt, president
Maryland Association of Counties
County executive, Wicomico County
Letters
Must restore fair share of funds for locally-maintained roads
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
In the June 2 Times-News, R. Steele Selby (“Just how free are we?) defines freedom as “the capacity to do whatever he or she wants to do” and asserts that this definition is “most likely nearly universal.”
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What Maryland calls the Fair Share Act isn’t fair at all
The Fair Share Act was passed in 2009. This law allowed for service fees to be part of the collective bargaining process.
The law does not mandate that service fees be negotiated, it simply provides that they can be. -
We have lots to show for our education dollars
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Judith Weller’s latest anti-education diatribe, “The money they already have isn’t being spent wisely,” (June 3).
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Western Md. Veterans continues its mission
My name is Dan Brashear, I am the founder and director of Western Maryland Veterans.
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Maybe the cyclists and casino workers should be armed
Again, unfortunately I have to remind Don Carns Jr. of Beans Cove, Pa., on his latest repeatedly inaccurate letter published June 10 in the Cumberland Times-News (“Township is nothing like either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia”).
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Let’s all kick in $1 to help save Frostburg’s Palace Theatre
As a former resident, I have many fond memories of the Palace Theatre (“Theater wall crumbles: Palace exterior collapses, unfit for entry: officials,” June 6 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Develop the waterway
Since the debate over removing the dam started about four years ago, I have been concerned about the effect the dam removal would have on the area’s welfare.
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Living center marks national nursing assistants week
Golden Living Center will join in the celebrations honoring the hundreds of thousands of nursing assistants across the country during National Nursing Assistants Week, June 13-20.
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West Virginia, Johnny Cash, coal miners honored on stamps
While this most likely won’t fall under the category of the most earth-shattering letter to the editor you will read today, it is still big doings for those of us here at the U.S. Postal Service.
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If you build a whitewater play spot, they will come
Regarding “River Project Prospects: Experts reveal benefits, challenges at Allegany Museum” (June 7 Times-News, Page 1A):
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
