Funding flexibility

The two worst-kept secrets in North Carolina are that the state faces another billion-dollar-plus shortfall in the coming year and that its highways and other transportation infrastructure are in the ditch. The prospect of solving either in the short term appears next to impossible.

Not to worry, says Gov. Mike Easley: just use $700 million in bond proceeds -- originally meant for new highway construction when voters approved a 1996 bond issue -- to widen and resurface 32,000 miles of state roads, replace or repair 7,000 bridges, pay for safety projects and help finance transit projects in Charlotte and Raleigh.

The governor described his plan as bold; his opponents, noting that next year is an election year, described it as political. Transportation experts such as David Hartgen of UNC Charlotte note that the plan is timely because it would significantly improve road conditions. Dr. Hartgen has criticized the state for building new roads rather than maintaining and improving existing roads. As one result, the state has a high fatality rate on narrow rural roads.

Gov. Easley makes good arguments in favor of flexibility in the use of these funds. At a time when the state has few revenue options, North Carolina should take advantage of available money to do the most good as quickly as possible. But using bond proceeds presents the Easley administration with the task of persuading the public and the General Assembly that changing economic and transportation circumstances justify using the funds this way rather than as intended.

The governor's critics won't be happy with the plan. Two former state officials are suing the Easley administration for using part of the Highway Trust Fund last year to help balance the state budget. That money was available partly because lawsuits have delayed new road projects.

Gov. Easley proposes to borrow and spend the $700 million on transportation projects over two years and to pay it back over 20. That would jump-start transportation maintenance now, bring in more federal funding for transit, boost the economy and still provide the money for new highways in the long haul.

"The upside is that this is as much an economic stimulus program as it is a transportation package," the governor said. The public may be skeptical whether the proposal will produce the 30,000 new jobs the governor is forecasting. But there is little doubt that the proposal would make highways more efficient and safer, strengthen the economy, provide many new jobs and hasten rail transit systems for the largest cities.

But the Easley administration and the General Assembly must build in safeguards that assure the public the money will be used responsibly and not for a series of pork-barrel projects. The legislature must assure that the plan will not delay construction of new roads already in the pipeline. And the plan must carry assurances that urban areas such as Charlotte receive sufficient funding for both public transit and road projects.

Among many other tasks this year, Gov. Easley must make a compelling case for using road construction bonds to improve existing transportation facilities. Anyone who drives the state's highways or who uses public transportation facilities may be receptive to that argument -- as long as there are credible assurances the money will be used wisely, well and effectively.