Listening To Small Biz: Keep On Truckin’

One of the most important things about canvassing isn't trying to get somebody's vote or a great spot for signs: it's having the chance to listen to constituents.  As Ericka remarked to a supporter yesterday, I have opinions on everything and I can filibuster with the best in the history of the US Senate!  What I need is opinions, concerns, and ideas from the people I aim to represent–not just during the campaign, but all the time.

So I've heard thoughts from people in education about school choice, budget cuts, hungry children who are at a disadvantage in school.  I've heard a wide array of perspectives on Vermont Yankee and Walmart.  I've heard plenty of worry about jobs and taxes.

Something new for me today was about permitting of overweight trucks.  I honestly never had thought about the issue, was unaware of any of the attendant problems, and got quite and education from a small business owner.

Turns out that if you operate trucks–say in a precast concrete business–that exceed town weight limits, you need permits.

23 V.S.A. § 1400a. Special local highway and bridge limits; reimbursement for damages; special permits

(a) A person or corporation owning or operating a traction engine, tractor trailer, motor truck or other motor vehicle that desires to operate it in excess of the weight limits provided in this subchapter over highways and bridges under the jurisdiction of a municipality with the exception of class 1 town highways and subject to the provisions of subsection 1400(c) of this title shall make application for a permit to the appropriate legislative body, or its designee.

(d) A $5.00 fee for administration of permits imposed under this section shall be for the period expiring March 31 of each year. As an alternative, upon payment of an administrative fee of $10.00, an applicant may obtain a permit to operate all of his or her registered vehicles in that municipality…

Notice that the permits cost all of 5 bucks.  Not an onerous burden on a business of any stripe, and not the focus of concern.

The issue is that businesses must apply for said permits in every town in which they operate an overweight vehicle (in addition to state permits).  Astute Vermonters know we have 251 town-like entities in our bucolic state.  My educator observed that he would lose 2 weeks of productive business applying for each town, costing him (according to my back-of-the-napkin estimate) upwards of $200,000.

Dropping a bill with Lincoln on the front is nothing.  Dropping 40,000 of them through bureaucratic nonsense is significant.  And don't get me started on the disproportionate fines for questionable violations.

As a telecommunications professional, I did think to myself, “hey, it's 2010, surely the towns have applications online to make this a little more convenient.”  Indeed some do.  Hinesburg, for example, posts theirs and helpfully notes: For convenience of permittees, 24-hour issuance of permits is available Monday – Friday.  That's swell.  In contrast, Williamstown pulls a psych-out, pretending to have permits and instructions available on their website, but all you get is a 404.

But even if all the forms were uniformly accessible, it's still a great deal of silliness and wasted energy, especially at a time when productivity is more valuable than ever.  If we are concerned about small businesses–our real jobs engines–we need to address this issue.  It ain't sexy, it ain't something I'm gonna win an election on, but it's something that impacts all of my constituents, not just the business owners, and needs to be fixed.

I'm going to be at a candidate forum next week with everybody running to represent Franklin-2.  At the very least I'd like to discuss this with Dick Howrigan, the Democratic incumbent who just so happens to be on the Transportation Committee, if not the entire field.  Why we can't have a one-stop-shop for permit applications at the State, which can in turn disburse funds to the municipalities, is beyond me.  This is one of those “let's streamline regulations” things I can get behind wholeheartedly.

todd

(x-post at Todd for Vermont House)

3 thoughts on “Listening To Small Biz: Keep On Truckin’

  1. While operating a camera at my town’s select board meeting I know that, no, they don’t have an online process for this.  Our town doesn’t have a website.

    Each trucking outfit sends in their requests, but in our area it’s not that many, even though we are on Rt 14 and have granite-hauling semis.  I went to almost every meeting and I don’t think there were even five of these requests.

    I find it hard to believe that any one trucking firm actually has to pay each town in the state.  I am sure that some do have to pay many towns.

    But I want to know what road taxes these overweight trucking firms pay.  That measly $5 is just to cover the town’s filing time.  They are beating our roads, both state and town, even more than usual but I do not know if they pay for that privilege.

Comments are closed.