Less than a year after an audit of the N.C. Department of Transportation found massive overspending, a blue-ribbon panel is recommending the department get a 40% budget hike.
The N.C. First Commission, created by former Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon to assess the state’s transportation priorities, recently suggested that state transportation should get an additional $2 billion annually to deal with crumbling infrastructure brought on by time and a growing population. North Carolina transportation spending is now more than $5 billion annually, combining state and federal funds.
Panel suggests funding mechanisms both traditional and novel
The panel said the best way to find the additional money is through raising taxes and fees at the state and local levels. The report suggests that a boost of the Highway Use Tax from 3% to 5% would add $6 billion to state coffers over a decade. It also proposed increasing the state sales tax by one-half or three-quarters of a cent, putting