Vernon Airs Gas Tax Concerns

BY DIANA GOOVAERTS

VERNON – Several members of the Vernon Township Council on Monday expressed their concerns about the gas tax increase currently being considered by state lawmakers following a recent meeting with state Senator Steve Oroho.
The proposed 23-cent gas tax hike would be used to fund the state's penniless Transportation Trust Fund, state officials have said.
In a recent meeting with Oroho (R-24) that was closed to the press, Council President Dan Kadish said Vernon officials learned there are 7,000 bridges in the state. Of those, Kadish said, 10 percent are structurally deficient and 26 percent are obsolete and don't match federal or state standards.
Additionally, 66 percent of the state's roadways are classified as being in “poor” condition and 35 percent of the drivers that use state roads and bridges are from out of state and therefore don't pay taxes toward the general fund, Kadish said.
Only 21 percent – or about $400 million – of the new gas tax would be returned to the county, Kadish said. According to state standards, he said, road work costs $183,757 per mile, much less than the Rutgers study that pegged the price tag at $2 million per mile.
Council members Dick Wetzel, Patrick Rizzuto and Sandra Ooms all expressed concerns about the proposed gas tax increase.
Wetzel said he and many of the people he had come into contact with believed the hike would not do Sussex County “any good whatsoever,” especially given the large population of commuters in the area.
“They're going to be hit very, very hard because this is going to be a ripple effect,” Wetzel said. “Prices are going to now go up. Anything that is brought into this town – food, bread – you're going to have to pay some kind of energy tax.”
Ooms seconded Wetzel's sentiment, noting that the tax would not just be felt in commuter wallets but also in the township's budget, which would have to accommodate increases for heating oil and school bus services.
Councilwoman Jean Murphy encouraged township residents to contact Oroho's office to offer their thoughts on the proposal.
Though the council has received a handful of resolutions from other municipalities officially opposing the gas tax increase, Vernon has not yet followed suit.