COMING FRIDAY: THE POTHOLE REPORT

posted by Michael Chihak

The gasoline tax in Arizona was begun in 1921, at one-cent a gallon. Now it's 18 cents, a level at which it has stayed for 22 years.

Last fiscal year, 2010-11, the HURF produced $1.2 billion in revenue, with $556.5 million split among Arizona's counties, cities and towns. The rest stayed with the state for the highway fund, Department of Public Safety and Motor Vehicle Division funding.

There was a move afoot in the legislative session this year to reduce the amount the state has been keeping -- an additional $1.5 billion over the last decade -- as its share. It fell short, and the "sweeps," as legislators and others call them, continue in thw 12012-13 bvudget.

Those sweeps came in both good times and bad, when both Republicans and Democrats oversaw the process.

What it boils down to simply put is that local governments have less money with which to fill potholes and repair deteriorating streets and roads.

On Friday's Arizona Week, we will look at the numbers, the political process and the results. On air will be:

-- Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

-- State Rep. Vic Williams, R-Tucson, chair of the House Transportation Committee.

-- A representative of county government.

-- AZPM political correspondent Andrea Kelly, to help explain the numbers and the maneuverings.