CULLMAN – The Cullman County Commission on Tuesday voted to support a 3-cent per gallon gasoline tax to fund a $1.2 billion bond issue that would be distributed among Alabama’s 67 counties for road repairs. The tax would expire when the bonds are repaid.
The Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA) will seek legislative approval for the proposal, called ATRIP2, during the upcoming legislative session. The proposal was approved at the ACCA’s annual legislative conference earlier this month.
According to Cullman County Engineer John Lang, Cullman County currently operates on an annual road budget of approximately $8.6 million. Should the proposal receive legislative approval, Cullman County’s share of the bond issue would amount to roughly $19 million.
Under the current proposal, 20 percent of the county’s allocation from the bond issue would be divided among each of the municipalities in Cullman County based on their populations.
ACCA Executive Director Sonny Brasfield said that the minimum allocation for each county under the proposal is $10 million. The revenue from the bonds can only be spent on road and bridge projects. It cannot be spent on salaries, equipment or any construction other than roads and bridges.
“For a person driving about 20,000 miles per year – which is a high estimate – this increase would cost about $25 a year. That’s just a few cents over two bucks a month,” said Brasfield.
According to Brasfield, 53 counties were represented at the business session where the plan was initially unveiled, and all attending counties voted in favor of the bond issue.
ATRIP2 is a follow-up to Gov. Robert Bentley’s 2012 Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP). http://www.drivealabama.org/funding/atrip/
See a copy of the commission’s resolution to support ATRIP2 below.
ATRIP 2 Support by cullmansense on Scribd
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