ONTARIO – A lingering and massive state Transportation Department budget shortfall may mean some type of new fee or tax for Oregonians, a powerful state lawmaker said last week.
In an exclusive interview, state Rep. Susan McLain, D-Forest Grove, the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said the transportation budget gap is the result of less gas tax money and more fuel efficient vehicles.
“The shortfalls we face now are immediate,” McLain said an interview in Ontario on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Without an infusion of cash, basic transportation department services such as road and bridge repairs would be scaled back. Vacant positions within the department would also be left empty, potentially and dramatically reducing staffing for the state’s highway agency.
McLain was in Ontario to conduct a public hearing by the committee. The 12-member committee consists of state senators and representative. State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, is a member.
About a dozen people testified on various subjects during the session at the Meyer-McLean Performing Arts Theater.
The funding problem was front and center for the committee as the first three people to testify were top state Transportation Department officials. They briefed the committee on the pending budget crisis.
Kris Strickler, Transportation Department director, Ken Patterson, the department’s eastern Oregon region manager and Carla Phelps, administrator of the department’s commerce and compliance division, testified regarding the seriousness of the looming budget calamity.
The transportation department faces a $354 million budget gap now, and the issue is sure to be a priority during the legislative session next year.
The current 2023-2025 budget for the department is $6.3 billion.
“The vast majority of that funding is directed by the Legislature or federal government to specific programs or projects or debt repayment, rather than to highway maintenance and agency operations,” said Vicki Moles, an agency spokesperson.
Moles said the agency will need $1.8 billion to “fund the transportation system fully and sufficiently.”
“This is annually, and not for the two-year budget cycle,” said Moles.
Patterson warned as many as 70 positions in his region will be eliminated if a funding source is not obtained.
Oregon funds its roads in several ways.
The federal government provides some funding, while payroll taxes and other levies – such as sales of new bikes – are used for roads.
Most of the funding, though, is derived from the State Highway Fund. That fund consists of DMV fees, a weight-mile levy collected on trucks and the state’s gas tax, now 40 cents per gallon.
McLain said as more electric cars hit the road and other vehicles become more fuel efficient, gas tax collections diminish.
McLain said the transportation department has already taken steps to save money.
“They’ve been cutting some services and leaving open positions,” she said.
Without more funding, the transportation department plans to make further cuts.
McLain said the goal is to find a viable way to fund the agency to avoid substantial cuts on its employee roster or the ability to maintain state roads.
“The committee has asked for specific data to make sure we understand,” said McLain.
Yet McLain said “we know we will have to prioritize.”
“We are committed to help fill the gap,” said McLain.
The next step, she said, will be to “figure out what tools are possible and acceptable to voters and the Legislature.”
Those tools may include “some kind of fee or tax,” she said.
McLain said the issue isn’t just a problem for legislators.
“Cities and counites face the same thing,” she said.
McLain said the committee is looking at options to generate more money including some type of user-fee or a fee on the number of miles traveled by a vehicle. She said the committee is also looking at what other states do to fund their road systems.
She said Minnesota recently enacted a retail delivery fee of 50 cents that applies to some transactions involving the delivery of goods.
Legislators have also reviewed new tolls.
“They (tolls) are definitely available for the short term, like for the I-5 bridge,” said McLain.
The key for the future, she said, is to find a funding mechanism that is “sufficient, diversified and stable.”
“We have to do something in 2025. We can’t wait to another biennium because using less fossil fuel is a trend,” she said.
Residents of Halfway, Ontario and the Burns area testified at the session. The testimony ran the gamut from a Baker County group seeking support to reinstate the Amtrak Pioneer train to shortcomings on U.S. Highway 20 in the Burns area to funding to help make upgrades to the state park north of Ontario.
McLain said the committee’s statewide tour is important.
“The tour is about how to fund ODOT (the transportation department) so they can support safety and maintenance of the state transportation system,” said McLain.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
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