Posted on 05/01/2017 11:56:18 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
State transportation officials may be forced to suspend construction on some partially completed highway projects if the Legislature follows through with a proposal to cut its off-the-top funding from income tax revenues to $320 million, says Mike Patterson, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
The transportation department was scheduled to receive $571 million in off-the-top funding from income tax revenues next fiscal year, but a joint legislative committee passed a revenue measure Thursday evening that calls for reducing that amount to $320 million.
Patterson said such a drastic cut would force his department to suspend several construction projects that are currently in progress.
Patterson said he plans to ask employees to begin looking immediately for construction projects that can be suspended.
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission is expected to discuss the situation when it meets at 11 a.m. Monday at the R.A. Ward Transportation Building, 200 N.E. 21st Street.
The Legislature is facing an $878 million revenue shortfall for next fiscal year's budget and has been looking at a variety of alternatives to close the gap.
There have been discussions about raising state diesel and gasoline taxes by 6 cents per gallon and raising the cigarette tax by $1.50 a pack, but those proposals face an uncertain future.
Patterson said if the Legislature cuts the transportation department's off-the-top funding, but can't get the votes to pass a fuel tax, "we're in deep trouble."
"We average about $100 million a month in disbursements," he said, adding those payments can't be sustained if the department just receives $320 million.
Suspending projects would result in additional costs, Patterson said.
For example, he said if the agency were to stop work on the I-235 project in Oklahoma City, sod would have to be planted to keep the bare ground from washing away.
"Beyond that, the contractor has expenses and ultimately there are likely to be claims filed against the department," he said.
OK needs to stop the Spring grass fires....
When faced with a serious Government shortfall, SPENDING needs to take a vacation. Our State is facing the same thing, in the Ag community, which spreads to everyone else supporting Ag including State government. The ag total peaked in 2011 at 3.8 billion.
Farm income in South Dakota for 2016 totaled $0.8 billion, which was down from $1.8 billion in 2015, a decrease of 57.2%, but decreasing steadily from 2011.
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