Transportation Transparency and Accountability Resolution

WHEREAS, Austin is already the most congested city of its size in the country and congestion is projected only to worsen;

WHEREAS, in five years the region will add the combined 2000-census populations of Round Rock, Georgetown, San Marcos, Buda, Bastrop, Pflugerville and West Lake Hills, and at the current rate of car ownership will mean an additional 130,000 cars on our local roads; 

WHEREAS, to keep up with population growth and traffic congestion, we need new roads, expanded roads, passenger rail and mass transit;

WHEREAS, Central Texans are now faced with the choice to raise the property tax, the sales tax, the gas tax and/or to toll our roads;

WHEREAS, the expenditure of public funds collected through taxes or user fees need to have transparency and accountability.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors supports the following polices that ensure extensive and meaningful public input, accountability and transparency, if tolling is utilized as a financing mechanism including:

1. The regional agency that approves construction of roads and collection of tolls should have at least one elected official on its board to help ensure accountability and to work with other transportation boards and groups.


2. Projects should be planned around public needs and road planners should seek input from local communities in planning new roads.


3. As required by state law, there always must be an un-tolled option where free roads existed before so that drivers who do not want to pay a toll have a choice and can use frontage roads or non-toll lanes, thus providing that new road lanes are financed only by the drivers who actually use them, not all taxpayers in the region.


4. Toll roads should always be owned by the citizens of Texas. And before any agency commits to outsourcing the management of any toll road system to a private corporation, foreign or domestic, a vote of an oversight group comprised substantially of elected officials should occur.


5. Toll revenues should be used in part to repay a city, county or state agency for taxes or other non-toll public money that helped pay for the tolled portion of a road, after accounting for debt servicing, repayment of construction bonds and future maintenance requirements.


6. An oversight group comprised substantially of elected officials which is accountable to the general public should review revenues generated by toll roads and information must be available to the public so people may easily determine how much money tolls would raise, how much roads would cost and what other projects would benefit from tolls as new roadways are paid off.


7. Once financing costs of any toll road are repaid, bond covenant obligations are satisfied and future maintenance and necessary extensions are is assured, local officials should decide whether to stop collecting tolls on that road or continue to collect tolls to pay for other traffic and mobility solutions in the region.

ADOPTED ON THIS 10th DAY OF JANUARY 2007 BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE GREATER AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

______________________ ROGER N. MITCHELL 2007 Board Chair	______________________ MICHAEL W. ROLLINS, CCE President