Apparently with the encouragement of Delegate Bob Marshall, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is moving forward with plans to challenge the transportation deal crafted by the General Assembly earlier this year:
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to challenge Virginia’s new transportation plan, a decision that threatens to delay or even derail an agreement that promised to raise up to $400 million a year for road and transit improvements in Northern Virginia.
Loudoun officials argued that the law that created the transportation plan violates the state constitution by allowing an appointed panel of local officials called the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to levy taxes and impose fees on area residents. The supervisors said state officials escaped the politically hard choice of raising taxes by pawning that responsibility off on a little-known body that cannot be held accountable at election time.
“We all want more money from Richmond,” said Supervisor Lori L. Waters (R-Broad Run). “But at the end of the day, our citizens want transportation solutions, and Richmond is playing games.”
A protracted legal challenge could delay the start of projects such as a new interchange on the Fairfax County Parkway, the widening of the Prince William Parkway and $11 million worth of road improvements in Loudoun. If the county wins, the agreement could be voided.
While I cannot comment on the legal merits of the authority of the planned challenged, I think there is a key problem with the most important part of the plan:
A key part of the law was to put the transportation authority in charge of choosing projects and finding ways to pay for them. Until then, the authority had been a little-known advisory board without much power — or money.
The authority has 14 voting members, including the top elected official or designee from each of nine Northern Virginia jurisdictions, along with two members appointed by the House of Delegates, one appointed by the Senate and two appointed by the governor.
Although most of the officials are elected, the board itself is not elected by voters. Critics fear that with no public accountability, the panel could play favorites in making decisions about where to spend the money.
More importantly, though, is the fact that the authority to raise revenue and direct where it is spent will be in the hands of an unelected, potentially unaccountable, organization. Given that, the opponents of the plan should have their day in Court and, until then, I have to agree with this:
I would be very disappointed in any elected official serving on the NVTA who might decide to move forward on imposing fees and taxes until these constitutional questions are resolved. I imagine I might not be the only one, particularly if the powers granted to the NVTA are eventually ruled unconstitutional.
One doubts that the NVTA will show any restraint, however.
