State Department of Transportation commissioner Gena Evans had her turn in front of budget writers Thursday, pleading for help in trying to shore-up her agency’s shortfall.
"We’ve done everything that I know to do without hitting our personal services budget, and to be frank, I think my clock is pretty well cleaned at this point."
Evans says those cutbacks have included everything from equipment, to computer hardware, to landscaping contracts. Those cuts were combined with a pair of accounting moves to trim down from an original 456-million dollar deficit.
Still, Evans says she needs help. She asked lawmakers today to move a DOT debt-load off their books to the general treasury. Also, a request to move an additional one-percent of the state’s gas tax from the general fund, directly to the DOT.
"We’ve done everything that I know to do without hitting our personal services budget, and to be frank, I think my clock is pretty well cleaned at this point."
Evans says those cutbacks have included everything from equipment, to computer hardware, to landscaping contracts. Those cuts were combined with a pair of accounting moves to trim down from an original 456-million dollar deficit.
Still, Evans says she needs help. She asked lawmakers today to move a DOT debt-load off their books to the general treasury. Also, a request to move an additional one-percent of the state’s gas tax from the general fund, directly to the DOT.
"With no new taxes, those two things could generate almost 400-million dollars to the department without a single new tax."
The DOT has already had to push numerous projects back to future years in dealing with its budget.
