#NCGA: Oh, yeah. Here’s where the gas tax money goes.
We’ve posted previously about our frustration over paying an obscenely high gas tax while being told by Raleigh politicians that there is no money to maintain existing or build new roads.
Some internal docs at NCDOT are shedding some light on what happens to all of that money we shell out at the pump. For 2013-14, NCDOT got $4.4 BILLION in funding.
Of that $4.4 BILLION, a mere $2,049,000,000 went to the highway fund, and $1,105,000,000 went to the highway trust fund. From the highway fund, $257 MILLION was peeled away to fund the highway patrol, driver’s ed courses, the state treasurer and other state agencies. Another $254 MILLION was diverted from the highway fund to DMV administrative costs.
WHY is funding for maintaining and building highways going to June Atkinson’s Department of Public Instruction to pay for driver’s ed courses?
The highway patrol is under the aegis of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. WHY is nearly $200 million from a fund meant for road construction paying for an agency that doesn’t even fall under the domain of NCDOT?
WHY is $34 MILLION being taken from a fund meant for road construction to fund the operations 
of the state treasurer and “other” agencies?
The highway trust fund — which also includes gas tax money — includes just as many questions. A mere $46 million goes to “administration. Another $40 million goes to bike paths. Again, this money is meant for road construction and maintenance. WHY is it going to administration and bike paths?
Irresponsible use of our money by Raleigh bureaucrats and politicians does not constitute an emergency requiring more of my money. Print the linked chart out. Wave it in the face of any politician that tries to tell you we need to (1) borrow more money, (2) raise taxes, or (3) install toll roads to raise money to pay for road construction and maintenance. We’ve already sent them plenty of money meant for roads that went elsewhere.
You have half the truth my friend. According to my Representative friends from Wake County the bureaucrats in Raleigh have been trying to find new taxes for fuel for almost a decade. The Democrats discussed the idea of the mileage tax however they were smart enough to never let it come to a vote evening committee. Interestingly enough the same liberal Democrats from former Governor Perdue administration and beyond are still running the DOT. Current Governor Pat McCrory trying to save face with many of his Democrat friends by reappointing many Democrats to the DOT boards as well as hiring many Democrats for the Department of Transportation. Now as for the new taxes for fuel this is Gov. Pat McCrory example of pay to play politics, we all know the current Governor Pat McCrory is lagging behind in fundraising as compared to Attorney General Roy Cooper. So as anyone might have guessed this is the new scheme in which to allow the construction companies to receive government handouts in order for Pat McCrory to receive campaign contributions.
Oh now I see how it works. Send you money to the NCGOP establishment so their guys can appoint Democrats to key positions in state government. support Obamacare and call it a a great idea, and wail on conservatives. Well dog-eee. ain’t that just thinking outside the box. I’m sending my check and support to the NCGOP and their establishment candidates right now. Yes-siree, NOT!
Thanks for getting some numbers.
Supporting toll roads in NC now is essentially just approving their irresponsible past, current, and future behavior.
I entirely agree – we give them MORE than enough money. Sounds like they need to make better priorities and actually budget for things that should be in their budgets, instead of shuffling buckets of cash around to “pretend” like they have their budget situation in hand, which apparently they dont.
(Also…interesting that 10.4% of the gas tax collected is required to be dispersed back to the municipalities – did not know that) 🙂
As I Have said many times before, democrats built this culture of corruption and have remained in charge in the McCrory administration. The HWY trust fund has been raided many times. Most DOT agencies are full of political hire’s with little or no ability other than collecting a check and insuring more democrats are hired. DOT needs a huge purge!
Their current “solution” to highway funding is P3s and toll lanes. This is not a real solution to any real problem, but an ideological wolf in sheeps clothing. One of ALEC’s cornerstone issues is turning over publicly-financed infrastructure to private for-profit hands, especially highway construction. North Carolina is in the grips of ALEC ideology, with a Governor, Speaker, at least one or two ‘Speakers-in-waiting’ (Moffitt, Stam) solidly pro-ALEC.
The Cintra-Macquarie Indiana Toll Road is declaring bankruptcy TODAY. They made a pile of money, but when traffic projections didn’t meet their desired profit margin, they’re pulling out. Exact same story on their toll road in Texas – about to declare bankruptcy.
So who is North Carolina getting ready to “partner” with? Why, these same geniuses, of course, who just happen to be the private sector members of ALEC that pushed the whole P3 mantra in the first place. Whatta coinkydink! They sit down with state legislators like Board members Tillis & Moffitt at a posh ALEC conference, and a few years later, boink – they get a big contract to privatize our highways.
Crony capitalism at it’s worst, and we’ll be paying for generations if they get away with it.