I am taking your reader’s time to once again speak to the issue of the Highway Department and what Gov. Locke is proposing to us.

Gov. Locke has a plan . . . a bad one that involves higher taxes.

Gov. Locke is calling for a new transportation tax package that will raise gas taxes by 9 cents per gallon. If it passes, Washington citizens will pay 50.4 cents in state and federal taxes for every gallon of gas we buy. Locke’s plan will also increase the sales tax on automotive items by 1.5 percent and raise trucker fees.

Transportation related taxes should be spent on transportation improvements. But this money is not spent for roads. Washington citizens pay more than $1.2 billion each year in automotive sales taxes. NONE is used for congestion relief.

Washingtonians currently pay 18.4 cents per gallon in federal gas tax.

But the feds need only 3 cents per gallon to fulfill the federal obligations in our state transportation infrastructure. We should keep the other 15.4 cents in-state. That far surpasses Locke’s 9 cent increase.

In addition it should be noted that our state auditor is not permitted to conduct comprehensive transportation performance audits which are sadly needed. Legislators asked for transportation audits in their 2001-03 budget proposal. Locke, despite his many promises, specifically vetoed them.

Why are these audits necessary? The Department of Transportation has 468 different state entities reaching hands into the money trough. It’s a prescription for confusion. In limited financial audits, the state auditor’s office has identified major deficiencies in the ferry system’s accounting practices for 13 years straight.

These are just a few of my concerns about our Transportation Department and I urge our readers to get the facts from their state Legislators and then let their views be heard.

Tom Harves lives in Greenbank.