By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 12, 2007; B01

A newly empowered regional board is likely to approve more than $300 million in taxes and fees for Northern Virginia tonight, money that would be used to pay for regional road and transit improvements.

The taxes and fees would hit drivers and home buyers the hardest. Home buyers would pay a new "congestion relief fee" of 40 cents per $100 of a house's value. Drivers would pay an additional 1 percent tax on the value of new vehicles, $10 a year more in local registration fees, a $10 safety inspection fee and a 5 percent sales tax on auto repairs.

Additionally, area hotel taxes and car-rental fees would increase by 2 percentage points.

"Now we have a chance to actually do something," said Chris Zimmerman (D), an Arlington County Board member and chairman of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which would raise the taxes and decide how the money would be spent. "It's not ideal, but it's basically this or nothing."

The fees are the result of a legislative compromise this year between the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D). Both were under pressure to find ways to increase spending on roads and transit, especially in fast-growing Northern Virginia.

Rather than increasing statewide levies, such as the gas tax, legislators gave officials in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads the option of raising local taxes and fees.

The NVTA is made up of several appointees, plus the top elected officials of the region's nine jurisdictions -- Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

The members are likely to approve the new revenue at a 6 p.m. meeting today at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School in Falls Church.

State officials empowered the authority to raise taxes and fees, as well as make road-building decisions, with the idea that local officials could best solve what is largely a local problem. Concerns about how well those local officials will operate with each other have been raised in recent weeks as members from Loudoun and Prince William have not fully embraced the authority or its mission.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted last week to challenge the legality of the NVTA legislation. The Loudoun representative on the NVTA, Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (I), is likely to vote against the tax plan. York did not return several phone calls seeking comment.

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R) raised the possibility this week of delaying a vote on the new taxes, though that appears unlikely after the full county board voted to support the NVTA measures Tuesday night.

Under NVTA rules, measures must be approved by six of nine jurisdictions, representing at least two-thirds of the region's population. That makes it possible for one or more localities to derail initiatives.

"I understand people are getting cold feet," said Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and a supporter of the new taxes and fees. "But we must produce."

Zimmerman said he was "cautiously optimistic" that members will move forward with the plan. He said additional money is desperately needed to unclog the region's bottlenecks and increase transit options.

Proponents of the taxes and fees say there has been no significant increase in transportation funding in 21 years, despite torrid growth in the region and a corresponding spike in vehicle miles traveled and traffic congestion.

Critics say the law creating the authority violates the Virginia Constitution by allowing the appointed panel of local officials to levy taxes and impose fees on residents.

To quickly determine whether there are any legal problems with its authority, the NVTA is likely to ask a court to validate its legal taxing powers.