We are talking about a legacy as Gov. Jack Markell takes on the thorny issues of water quality and the gas tax.
On Tuesday, Markell introduced a comprehensive plan to deal with the state’s polluted waterways. It involves a $45 a year fee per household tacked on to the property tax and follows a bold proposal to increase the gas tax by a dime a gallon. Both plans have cost of living escalators.
Both the gas tax and water quality had been on the back burner throughout Markell’s administration as Delaware dealt with a recession and a painful recovery. But the governor, who has seen mixed success on the economic development front, is clearly taking the long view.
In an election year, it makes the proposals a big fat target. Republicans have been quick to jump in on the gas tax issue. To their credit, the GOP has proposed that Delaware Department of Transportation salaries be moved back to the general fund and trimming money off the upcoming state budget rather than plugging the current budget gap with money from the transportation trust fund.
In assembling the gas tax proposal, the Markell administration did gain support from construction, organized labor and other constituencies.
How to push through the two proposals with an army of timid Democratic legislators remains unclear. A small across-the-board budget cut, proposed by Republicans sounds easy, but it would also leave in place the “temporary”tax increases that were made permanent in the last General Assembly and became a GOP talking point.
On the water quality front, tampering with the property tax has its risks, given the great pride shown in low property taxes, especially in Sussex County. Also, neighboring Maryland has struggled over issues such as the “flush tax” that are aimed at cleaning up Chesapeake Bay.
In the offing in Maryland are expensive upgrades to wastewater systems that will strain county budgets. To his credit Markell is going the route of funding, rather than unfunded mandates.
Has the governor taken on too much? Perhaps, but it might be that Markell wants to deal with both issues during the remainder of his final term. The election year timing may be puzzling, but it offers another year to move some version of his agenda forward.
Getting some additional transportation and water clean-up funding would look a lot better on his resume and in the eyes of historians who favor governors with bold agendas.
