BRISTOL — To the editor:
The recent ongoing proposals to add tolls to the Mt. Hope and/or the new Sakonnet River Bridge, while increasing the Newport bridge tolls, begs the general question of where do the funds/revenue go that are collected with the gas tax, which are supposed to fund these infrastructure upkeep items.
The general assumption has been that the gasoline and diesel fuel tax is levied to support the transportation infrastructure of roads and bridges. Do we have a shortfall with gas tax receipts, or is this a situation similar to the lottery, which was advertised and sold as a dedicated source of funds for education? We all know what happened with the lottery funds. The lottery income goes into the State House piggy bank, the general fund, and we are still begging for educational funds.
Is it too much to ask of the person responsible in the state government to audit/reconcile the income and obligations from the gas and diesel tax against the actual cost for maintaining our road and bridge system, and to provide this information for public scrutiny? Only then will the public know if increasing the tolls is actually a disguise for other state funding/spending problems, or really necessary. Is more mental wool being pulled over the eyes as was done with the lottery? We are awaiting an answer.
Edward Wilbur Jr.
Bristol
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