Editorial: Put needs before image

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

Earlier this month a blue-ribbon task force released its yearlong study of Nevada's major highways. The main finding was that if all the roadwork necessary to simply keep up with growth were to be scheduled over the next decade, there would be a $3.8 billion funding gap.

The task force, appointed by outgoing Gov. Kenny Guinn, found that current sources of revenue for highway work are woefully insufficient in comparison to the vital need.

Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons, however, appears ready to maintain his anti-tax reputation at the expense of the state's motorists. The Las Vegas Sun's reporter in Carson City, Cy Ryan, caught up with Gibbons last week, after the incoming governor had met for more than an hour with Guinn.

"I'm not going to increase taxes," Ryan quoted Gibbons as saying in response to the task force's work.

A key recommendation of the task force was to increase the gasoline tax, which is a primary source of funds for building roads. The recommended increase would match the annual increase of inflation, with a cap of 4.5 percent. The task force also recommended a $20 increase in driver's license fees and other increases in fees and taxes related to highway funding.

Gibbons says he could go along with another of the task force's general recommendations, which is to use a portion of the state's expected surplus for road building. But that is money that cannot be counted on and, besides, it represents just a fraction of the need. The governor-elect is also talking about toll roads and public-private road-building projects, both of which are naive given the massive amount of work needed over a very short period of time.

A steady, reliable source of funding, such as an increased gas tax, is essential if the state is to avoid going from near gridlock to total gridlock on its main urban highways.

If Gibbons maintains his stance and rejects the task force's recommendations, it will be a slap in the face to drivers in the Las Vegas Valley. They will be the ones most affected if the state piddles around with privatization instead of responsibly attending to the critical need for major road improvements.