County Proposes Special Toll 49 Zone, but Some Object

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court is proposing to create “Transportation Reinvestment Zone Number One, County of Smith.” According to information from the county, “The Zone is intended to support improvements to, and the extension and expansion of, the Toll 49 system…and portions of U.S. Highway 271 and Interstate Highway 20 that are part of the East Texas Hourglass.” County officials add, “The Smith County Toll 49 TRZ proposes to capture 50% of the property tax revenue on future growth in a two-mile corridor along Toll 49.” But some residents are strongly opposed to the project and have launched an effort to see that it’s not approved.

County officials say, in part, “TRZs are an innovative tool for generating funding by capturing and leveraging the economic growth in a developing area. A TRZ does NOT result in a tax increase. The Toll 49 TRZ will speed up completion of Toll 49 Segment 4 by as much as 8 years, alleviating congestion on city streets and county roads. Extending Toll 49 diverts commercial traffic from county roads, increasing safety and improving transportation routes for local commerce. Any revenue collected by the TRZ will stay in Smith County.” Commissioners have set a public hearing on the matter for 9:30 a.m. Friday, November 15, in the Commissioners Courtroom in the Smith County Courthouse Annex.

But the conservative action group Grassrots America – We the People says the effort would drain “local property taxes away from local needs.” In response, Grassroots America launched an online petition to “keep local taxes for county roads and bridges – not for a state highway toll project.” Grassroots America’s JoAnn Fleming added, “If they believe local property taxes should be siphoned off for a state project, they should hold evening hearings around the county and a Saturday hearing downtown so that people who work during the day or work outside the county have an opportunity to attend.” John Furlow, who is running against County Judge Joel Baker, voiced similar concerns in stating his opposition to the project.

You can go to http://www.smith-county.com/ to learn more about the proposal. You can go to http://gawtp.com/ to learn more about Grassroots America’s concerns and view the petition.