A proposal to seriously reduce legislative funds designed to repair roads is ill-considered and will not save money in the long run. It will delay repairs of suburban streets, many of which, by DELDOT’s own grading of the roads, need to be done ASAP. The delays will only lead to increased repair costs when and if the streets are funded in future years. The people who will suffer are the motorists who use the streets and the residents who live there.
While Mike Chalmers of the News-Journal called this a controversial program, it is controversial only for those seeking to gin up controversy:
DOVER — The upcoming state budget would give lawmakers less than half the money they got this year for a controversial program to fix streets, plant trees and pave parking lots in their districts, a legislative committee recommended Sunday.
The General Assembly’s Bond Bill Committee cut the Community Transportation Fund to $8.4 million for the fiscal year that begins Wednesday, down from $18.6 million this year. The move is included in a package of capital-spending measures totaling $435.7 million.
In fairness, there was a time when this fund, then known as the Suburban Street Fund, was controversial. That was in the era when ne’er-do-wells like Norman Oliver got funds siphoned to projects having nothing to do with infrastructure repair. But, they got caught, and DELDOT and the General Assembly cracked down. Under the current system, the purposes for which the funds may be used are written down (Rule 12) and clearly defined. While the legislators may propose how their money is utilized, DELDOT must sign off on each and every expenditure.
This is not to suggest that there still aren’t some abuses. For example, a certain City of Wilmington legislator continues to expend an inordinate amount of money on tree removal/replacement, and actually had to ‘borrow’ money from another city legislator to fulfill the tree promises he/she had made, but could not fund. The same legislator, working with a well-connected councilperson/state employee, also found a way to provide funds to help pave a non-public senior center parking lot.
This example aside, most legislators have demonstrated both the maturity and integrity to abide by the rules and to actually fund the projects most in need of funding. If the rules need to be tightened a little more for the few who think the rules shouldn’t apply to them, so be it. But DELDOT has the sign-off authority now. In the few cases that seem hinky, they can lay down the hammer on their own.
Look, everybody’s picking the budget apart and complaining about their part of the universe that is affected the most. If the powers-that-be want to take the entire process out of the legislators’ hands, fine. El Somnambulo thinks that’s short-sighted since the legislators (presumably) spend lots of time in their respective districts, and they know which roads need repair.
However, the result of this cut will be worsening road conditions, more need for expensive quick fixes, and increased costs once the deferred roadwork finally gets done. Not to mention less construction jobs.
That sounds like a losing bet all around.