When it comes to transportation funding in the state of Vermont, the piggy bank was shattered long ago.
Already in the red, Vermont’s account for road and bridge maintenance and construction was expected to take another hit when economists released revenue forecasts for the remainder of FY 2009 on April 23. Experts were anticipating at least a $2 million revenue downgrade.
“When it comes to rainy day funds, it’s time to stop pretending that it isn’t raining,” Sen. Peter Shumlin, a Windham County, Vt., Democrat, told the Times Argus. “We’re in a downpour, and it may be necessary to utilize some of those funds.”
State lawmakers, however, are refusing to execute a knee-jerk reaction. All options are being examined. A cut to aid payments would have eliminated a $3.6 million transportation-spending hole, but the new forecasts may have taken the bite out of that move. Another solution could be to simply cut spending, but the only targets would be the town highway aid, Amtrak or internal operations at the Agency of Transportation. With stimulus money floating in, cutting staff is out of the question with the construction season starting to heat up, and the agency’s budget for new vehicles and other central items is already as low as it could go. Short-term borrowing is another option, but that would only effect FY 2010 spending. Vermont also could move money over from the General Fund to cover deficit spending in transportation, but lawmakers are resisting.
