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Tackling W.Va. Road Funding

Give West Virginia legislators and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin credit. At a time when state revenues are declining, they somehow managed to increase the state Division of Highways budget.

Nearly all the attention to fiscal matters during the past few months has been to the state’s general revenue budget. That was not inappropriate; the $4.1 billion-plus general revenue budget includes funding for most state programs.

But the separate State Road Fund is more important in a way: Anyone driving Mountain State highways, bouncing in and out of potholes and noticing unrepaired slips, recognizes the importance of that budget.

During the current fiscal year, which ends in just a few days, the State Road Fund budget totaled $1.186 billion. The most critical component is the Division of Highways budget, at $1.139 billion.

Next year’s State Road Fund, which goes into effect next Friday, totals $1.255 billion. The Division of Highways will get $1.209 billion of that.

So good for the governor and legislators, for finding more money for highways.

Unfortunately, the difference, about $60 million more, may not even make up for inflation. Though the price of oil, the primary ingredient of asphalt, is lower than a few years ago, the paving material costs substantially more.

No one can accuse legislators of dodging controversy during the past two years. They have tackled several important issues, not the least of which was this year’s General Revenue Fund budget.

In finally finding a formula acceptable to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and a majority of both houses of the Legislature, lawmakers’ biggest challenge was tax increases. Especially during an election year, no one wants to take the blame for higher taxes.

That may be one reason why no one in Charleston has been eager to tackle the problem of road funding. Analysts say the state is hundreds of millions of dollars a year short of having enough to handle pressing needs for highways and bridges.

Still, at some point — perhaps early next year after a new governor has been inaugurated — legislators need to tackle the issue of road funding. Next spring, as West Virginia motorists are dodging a new crop of winter potholes, might be an appropriate time.

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