Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Foresight is a word heard all too rarely in government, especially when it comes to how to pay for things.

At a recent Monroe County Commission meeting, Commissioner Heather Carruthers asked for -- and received -- unanimous approval from the commission to direct the county staff to further explore the possibility of placing a tollgate on U.S.1 where it enters the Florida Keys.

While the Keys recently received a reprieve until 2015 to comply with a mandate to build sewer systems countywide, even that deadline is a dream without a funding source.

With $200 million in state aid approved but not actually allocated, and a proposed referendum on a one-cent sales tax shot down by the Legislature, a toll may be the alternative to Monroe County taxpayers carrying the full funding burden -- an expense that easily could exceed $20,000 per household.

A portion of the toll on Alligator Alley -- officially known as Interstate 75 -- goes toward Everglades restoration. If the Legislature found that project justified expenditure of toll funds, it seems an easy stretch to apply the same logic to a toll on U.S.1 to offset environmental impact of millions of annual visitors on nearshore water quality in a national marine sanctuary -- a similar state and national resource in the same ecosystem.

The idea of a toll to pay for conservation and water-quality projects is far from new. In a 1998 executive order from the Governor's Office, specific mention is made -- and clear direction given -- regarding to a possible toll. That document, issued by Gov. Buddy McKay, reads: "Consideration should also be given to long-term funding solutions, including the feasibility of tolling U.S.1 as a revenue source for wastewater and stormwater projects and land acquisition."

Card Sound Road carries a $1 toll, and in the late '30s there were tollgates on U.S. 1 to pay for highway construction and to repair damage from the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.

In the past, one roadblock to the toll concept was a fear that a tollgate would create a traffic nightmare as motorists stop to pay. Today, Florida's SunPass system has all but eliminated congestion at tollbooths, with fees deducted electronically as traffic sails by uninterrupted.

Another possible benefit of SunPass would be in it's ability to instantly determine the home address of motorists, thus enabling the system to automatically exempt Monroe County residents from having to pay the toll.

There might also be benefits from the video systems employed in the SunPass system. With the high number of boat thefts in the Keys, that video record could be useful to the Sheriff's Office.

There is much to consider with the proposal, and there may be unintended consequences that must be examined. But the idea certainly is worth exploring.

We commend Carruthers for pushing for examination of this option, and the commission for approving her request. We also look forward to hearing the finding of county staff.

-- The Citizen