NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — The Northwest Arkansas Regional Mobility Authority was created to help finance expensive road programs planned for Benton and Washington counties.
But if the authority is to truly work as a supplement for state and federal funding, changes in the legislation governing the authority need to be made, regional planners say.
New legislation that would change the way the regional mobility group can raise money is expected to be introduced in the 2011 state legislative session.
Paving the way for such changes are recommendations by the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance.
On Dec. 1, the committee recommended that the law be changed so that regional mobility authorities can call for tax elections and create multi-county taxing jurisdictions.
The commission submitted the recommendations, which included statewide proposals, to Gov. Mike Beebe, the Legislature and the Arkansas Highway Commission, among others.
The Northwest Arkansas Regional Mobility Authority is a governmental agency that can build, operate, maintain, expand or fund transportation projects in Washington and Benton Counties.
It’s the only regional mobility authority in Arkansas but, in the southeast part of the state, officials in Ashley, Bradley, Drew, Jefferson and Lincoln counties are considering one of their own.
Mike Malone, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council, a group that promotes the region’s economic interests, said he plans to build a coalition to support changes in the law for Northwest Arkansas’ regional mobility group.
“We’ll work on somelegislation, hopefully with partners in other parts of the state,” he said.
Malone said it’s important that the regional mobility authority be able to create a single tax district encompassing Benton and Washington counties and raise and spend money across county jurisdictions.
The regional mobility authority can use city and county sales taxes, tolls, vehicle registration fees, as well as state and federal funds to finance its projects. Under current state law, taxes approved in one city or county cannot be spent in another.
The problem is that a $500 million project such as the Springdale Northern Bypass crosses into both Benton and Washington counties. Under the current law, funding and building such a project would entail two voter-approved taxes as opposed to one.
That needs to change, Malone said.
“Revenues need to be raised and spent across the RMA district,” he said.
The Blue Ribbon Committee also recommended that state-highway seed money be available to help the regional mobility authority establish itself and move forward with projects.
Malone supports funding a start-up account for mobility authorities. Through the account, the state could offer seed money to the regional mobility authority so it could hire staff and start planning projects. Malone also supports a funding mechanism by which the state would match all funds raised by the regional mobility authority in its first five years of existence.
Incentives, Malone said, could motivate communities around the state to start forming mobility authorities and sharing the cost of road construction.
Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue, a member of themobility authority’s board of directors, likes the direction Malone is taking.
“Those changes would be of value,” said Hogue, referring to the multi-county tax district and the ability of the authority to call its own election. “It sounds like [Malone] has gone to the heart of what the board’s been talking about.”
Over the next 30 years, about $2 billion in regional needs have been identified by Northwest Arkansas planners. Top projects totaling more than $1.2 billion include the Springdale Northern Bypass, the Bella Vista Bypass and improvements to Interstate 540.
The Blue Ribbon Committee’s recommendations for the regional mobility authority were one part of a broader proposal. The committee concluded that over the next 10 years the state will have $23.6 billion in needs but only $4.1 billion in available funds for a shortfall of $19.5 billion.
It also recommended a shift in some existing taxes and the creation of new ones to help cover the shortfall.
Some legislators, however, don’t expect much success for new road funding legislation during the next session because tax increases are involved. Proposals regarding the regional mobility authority could get tangled up in the larger discussion of roads, they say.
“I don’t see [changes to the RMA] getting a lot of support,” said Rep. Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs, who was a member of the blue ribbon committee. “People are having to tighten their belts.”
Times could change, however, and adjustments to regional mobility authority legislation could get a better reception a few years down the line.
“Sooner or later, people will be willing to listen,” Sample said.
Rep. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, said the recommendation that the regional mobility authority be given the power to call for tax elections would come under plenty of scrutiny.
“Getting approval would be an uphill battle,” Lindsey said. “Once you open the door, the questions get bigger and bigger. That’s the legislative process.”
The way the current legislation is written, a regional mobility authority cannot call for its own tax election. Instead, cities and counties must make the call at the request of the regional mobility authority.
While some legislators say the time is not right to introduce new taxes and change the regional mobility authority, there are others who say lawmakers must act now.
Jim McKenzie, the executive director of Little Rockbased Metroplan who served on the blue ribbon committee, sees a dire situation.
“Even if all the [tax recommendations] were passed, it wouldn’t be enough [to meet the state’s highway needs],” he said.
McKenzie isn’t optimistic that tax proposals will be approved.
“Given the state of the economy, I don’t think any of the revenue recommendations will pass,” he said.
Still, lawmakers have to consider highway improvements as well as funding mechanisms, including improvements to the regional mobility authority.
“They [legislators] don’t have to solve the problem this session but they have to start solving the problem,” he said.
News, Pages 2 on 12/15/2010