Facing a $345 million shortfall, the Oregon Department of Transportation is warning the agency could see large job cuts and "extremely greater" response times in some areas of the state if the agency doesn't receive needed funding in 2025.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Facing a $354 million shortfall, the Oregon Department of Transportation is warning the agency could see large job cuts and significant increases in response times in some areas of the state if the agency doesn't receive needed funding in 2025.
During an Aug. 1 Oregon Transportation Committee meeting, members from ODOT presented their agency request budget, showing where the agency stands if it does not receive more funding in the next legislative session, as first reported by OPB.
The "worst case scenario" budget includes a 10% decrease in ODOT's budget -- which would total more than $5 billion for the 2025-2027 biennium -- and includes more than 1,000 job cuts.
According to ODOT, three things are driving the budget shortfall.
“We're looking at a budget shortfall with three main issues. We're seeing revenues start to flatten, and we expect them to decline at the same time our costs are going up. We were paying more for everything from paint to equipment to concrete and asphalt. And lastly, we are not able to move funds around," ODOT Spokesperson Katherine Benenati told KOIN 6 News.
"If [funds] are dedicated to one area, then we don't have a lot of flexibility in how we can spend those funds. So, just because we get a lot of money for a bridge, for instance, doesn't mean that we can use that money to fill potholes," Benenati explained.
Amid the shortfall, ODOT is looking at a $101.7 million decrease in services and supplies which would cut funding for supplies such as fog striping, gravel, deicer, and sand.
"We would be purchasing half of what we do today," ODOT Budget Manager Russ Casler said during the meeting.
ODOT stressed that the reduced budget, potential job cuts, and decreased supplies could lead to slower response times, noting they’re already operating under a lower level of service than is ideal.
“We would have to redistribute our resources and maintenance in a different way than we are today. This would mean we would not be doing a lot of things we are doing today,” said Casler.
Without funding to address the shortfall, rural areas could see crew consolidation, which could mean shutting down ODOT maintenance stations across the state, according to the agency.
“We’re not going to ask a team of one or two employees to do something that would take five to six staff to do and create a safety challenge for our employees,” said Mac Lynde, ODOT delivery and operations division administrator. “That means response times are going to be extremely greater than they are today.”
He added, “You can imagine, in one of our rural settings where it may take a few minutes to an hour to show up to a crash, it may take hours in that situation."
Across the state, ODOT’s response to winter weather will also be impacted, according to the agency.
“Winter level of service will be dramatically different across the state that sees winter to the degree we see it. I think it will potentially have impacts on school buses and when they choose to transport our students across the state given our weather conditions and roads -- not plowing at night is an example -- we’ll likely see daytime-only plowing,” Lynde explained.
Urban areas will also be impacted, and the agency will likely be operating under a “response or react mode,” rather than keeping up with road and ODOT facility maintenance, officials said.
“If we think about a major fatality on our system and the amount of time it takes to work with our law enforcement partners to reconstruct the scene and do that criminal investigation, it would take a lot more of our resources to reopen the facility and [ODOT crews] may be coming from further away geographically to respond,” Lynde said.
At this point, ODOT said, it isn’t clear which positions would be cut.
Despite the potential job losses, loss of resources, and multi-million-dollar shortfall, ODOT told KOIN 6 News the agency is optimistic that the shortfall will be addressed in the governor’s budget, which will be released Dec. 1, and by the legislature.
ODOT's warning comes as state lawmakers on the transportation committee have been on a statewide transportation tour, which includes public hearing on transportation needs in different communities.
In a statement to KOIN 6 News, Joint Committee on Transportation Co-Chairs, Rep. Susan McLain (D-Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro) and Sen. Chris Gorsek (D–Gresham) said:
The Legislature must act in 2025 to ensure the state can plow snowy highways, fill potholes, keep sidewalks safe, and perform many other fundamental safety and maintenance duties across Oregon. It’s clear that as more fuel-efficient vehicles get on the road, the gas tax that ODOT's budget relies on will become increasingly insufficient to support the safety and maintenance of our statewide transportation systems. The Legislature began a statewide transportation outreach tour this summer to hear directly from Oregonians about how legislators should tackle this challenge. We will continue this work throughout the interim and must pass legislation in the upcoming 2025 legislation session to keep Oregonians safe on the go and protect hundreds of family-wage jobs.
Co-Vice Chair Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany, Millersburg, Tangent) told KOIN 6 News "Democrats have been in charge of ODOT for nearly 40 years, so I'm not surprised they have created another crisis in an attempt to raise Oregonians' taxes. The results of their mismanagement and lack of oversight are shocking, and now it could cost Oregonians their livelihoods. What's more shocking is that they are just now noticing the problem."
ODOT said they are not sure where the funding will come from, saying that will be up to the legislature.
“One of the interesting things that other states do is they index, they index taxes and fees to inflation. We do not do that in Oregon, so we set a tax, or we set a fee, and it can quickly get behind because it isn't indexed to or tied to inflation,” Benenati explained.
“That could be an option that the legislature looks at increasing taxes or fees or broadening the types of funding that help pay for transportation could also be an option, but again, that is not a decision that ODOT will make. It is a decision that we will definitely take a part in and we're looking forward to working closely with the legislature and the governor," Benenati added.
Roxy Mayer, a spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek, told KOIN 6 News "ODOT employees provide Oregonians with essential services, and the Governor sees their work as vital to the safety and prosperity of our state. As the Governor prepares her recommended budget, sufficient and sustainable funding for ODOT is top of her mind. She strongly supports legislative efforts in 2025 to forestall the detrimental service reductions presented to the OTC last week.
