Despite unanswered questions, Gimenez’s plan to reduce tolls warrants serious consideration in the Legislature

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposal to take over a portion of Florida’s Turnpike, create a new transit authority, eliminate MDX and reduce hated tolls is a long shot. However, the mayor’s vision is not pie in the sky. In fact, there’s precedent.

Two Miami-Dade legislators want to hand over the county’s expressways to state control. But we see little guarantee that Miami-Dade drivers would reap the benefits of this oversight change. And shame on them for being too willing to hand over local control to Tallahassee.

Rather than rushing through their proposals, State Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah Gardens, and Rep. Bryan Avila, R-Hialeah, can best serve constiutents far beyond the borders of their districts by giving the mayor’s proposal honest, thoughtful consideration.

The goal is to get rid of the high tolls that are costing commuters a bundle, sending drivers onto residential streets in order to avoid having to pay them. There’s likely more than one way to accomplish this, as Gimenez’s plan suggests.

In a meeting with the Editorial Board on Thursday, Gimenez made the case for his counter-proposal to the legislative push to get rid the much-maligned MDX, letting the state take over Miami-Dade expressways. Lawmakers say that tolls would be eliminated — many years down the road — once existing debt is retired.

That’s the carrot. But we’re sure there’s a stick somewhere.

In brief, here’s what Gimenez wants to do: In taking over a lucrative portion of Florida’s Turnpike, the county would use revenue left over after maintenance expenses to pay off debt and fund operating expenses MDX roads. The mayor says these would result in an immediate toll reduction, on both MDX roads and the Turnpike, especially bringing relief to commuters on its Homestead extension. There, drivers pay more in tolls than is needed to maintain it.

The plan dissolves MDX and creates a new authority made up of local elected mayors and governor’s appointees.

Gimenez calls Miami-Dade’s 48-mile portion of the Turnpike a “cash cow.” It brought in $170 million in toll revenue last year, funds FDOT will be extremely reluctant to give up, no doubt. Two years, ago, Orlando’s toll agency, the Central Florida Expressway Authority, pushed to take over a stretch of the Turnpike. It fell apart when the-Gov. Rick Scott demanded $5 billion from the Authority to make it happen. In Miami-Dade’s case, Gimenez says that instead of a cash payment, the new authority would pay off $300 million of the Turnpike system’s debt.

Avila and Diaz’s bills have passed the committee votes, but they are not yet scheduled for floor votes. This is where state lawmakers should align themselves with the mayor. This community of commuters needs to know just how much of its $170 million — no doubt funded by tourists and business visitors, too — it’s getting back from the state.

The state is supposed to use 90 percent of that revenue to maintain the portion of Turnpike in Miami-Dade. According to the mayor, however, the county never has been able to confirm this. Gimenez said that the state has yet to share the numbers with his administration. If the state indeed is paying the required 90 percent, it should say so. If it’s spending less in Miami-Dade, we should know, and know why.

Diaz, Avila — and others in the delegation — should get out in front of this and insist that FDOT give Miami-Dade these missing revenue figures. The mayor’s plan has several unanswered questions, but it also has merit. Diaz and Avila should push FDOT to release the financials, fully vet the Gimenez proposal, then act with the best interests of their county foremost in their minds.

This story was originally published March 31, 2019 at 10:45 AM.