Arlington’s representative on a panel studying D.C. Metro funding is opposing a region-wide sales tax to support the transit system.
Instead, County Board member Matt de Ferranti believes Virginia, D.C. and Maryland should each determine how they will pay for the extra regional costs now estimated at $500 million to $600 million a year.
It was not a unanimous verdict, but at a Friday meeting, those sharing de Ferranti’s viewpoint outnumbered those amenable to a regional sales tax to support the Metro system.
The two options:
- Option A: Have the three jurisdictions independently determine how they will raise the necessary additional funds, which for Northern Virginia are expected to total $150 million to $180 million for the first year and rise after that.
- Option B: Increase sales-tax rates throughout the region high enough to raise the funds, which in addition to Virginia would be an estimated $190 million to $225 million the first year for D.C. and $170 million to $200 million for Maryland.
“Both options work,” said Nick Donohue, a former Virginia state transportation official who is serving as facilitator for the DMV Moves initiative. It is a collaborative effort between the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
When the discussion moved around the table to de Ferranti, his response was to the point.
“Fully Option A,” de Ferranti said.
Other Northern Virginia leaders, including Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay, echoed his support for autonomy.
“I would without a doubt prefer Option A,” said McKay. “There are a lot of challenges in Option B — the challenge for many of us might be the loss of local autonomy, input, structure.”
But the top elected leader in one county further west, Loudoun County Board Chair Phyllis Randall, was on the other side of the debate.
“You can never call anything ‘permanent’ and ‘dedicated’ if it relies on elections and people who are in the political office at the moment,” Randall said.
She argued that without a permanent, dedicated funding stream, localities cannot guarantee that they will fund their full share in the future.
“A different board that turns over may do something different, and they will be willing to go to court about it,” she said. “That’s life.”
Nevertheless, Fairfax County supervisor Rodney Lusk said a one-size-fits-all funding effort is unrealistic given the D.C. area’s dynamics.
“We have to acknowledge the jurisdictions are different, and we’ve got to respect that,” he said.
Northern Virginians currently pay a 6% sales tax, with 4.3% going to the state government, 1% to the locality and 0.7% for regional transportation projects. Some items, such as grocery purchases, are taxed at a lower rate.
At the DMV Moves meeting, Maryland officials voiced support for local autonomy on determining how to pay extra costs.
Marc Korman, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, noted that his state has no local sales tax and state leaders were “extremely unlikely” to impose one, for transit or anything else.
Maryland collects a 6% sales on most purchases, but that revenue is channeled to the state government.
D.C. City Council member Phil Mendelson expressed some reservations about both options, but sided with a regional sales tax.
No official tally was taken, but DMV Moves leaders said they took the results as direction to develop a plan where jurisdictions will have final say in how they raise the money.
The body is seeking agreement among participating localities to invest up to an additional $600 million a year in Metro’s rail and bus networks.
The funding level would rise each year, with the amount of the increase yet to be determined. A figure of “at least 3%” was included in planning documents.
Charles Allen, a member of the D.C. City Council and co-chair of the group, said he was fine with a do-it-yourself approach to funding. But, he said, it must come with “a regional commitment that creates an iron-clad structure.”
Without assurances that localities will fulfill their funding promises, “what’s the point?” Allen said.
In coming months, work groups will flesh out details of the funding mechanism before a final recommendation comes in the fall. Ultimately, the D.C. City Council and legislatures of Virginia and Maryland will have to sign off on any new financial compact.
The clock is ticking, said WMATA general manager Randy Clarke, noting that plans need to be in place by next fall to be ready when the new funding kicks in sometime in late 2027.
“We really have a year to solve the problem,” he said. “If it isn’t solved, then we’re going to have impacts to our capital program.”
Last week’s meeting also included an update on region-wide efforts to expand and upgrade bus routes with the highest ridership.
While views differed on how much collaboration between local bus systems is feasible or desirable, de Ferranti said he would like that discussion pushed back until after decisions on the additional funding stream.
“I think that’s a January conversation, not a ‘now’ conversation,” said de Ferranti, who is one of Arlington’s representatives on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission board of directors.
Public comment was not taken at the May 16 meeting, but is being accepted via email for consideration at future meetings.
