MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A hole in the state’s Transportation Fund is prompting layoffs at the Vermont Agency of Transportation and delaying some projects.
A key legislative panel this week approved $7.5 million in budget cuts at VTrans.
The cuts will include pausing upgrades to Springfield’s VTrans garage and Rutland’s Amtrak station, as well as reductions in highway mowing, tree trimming, and culvert maintenance. The cuts also mean 28 positions will be phased out by the end of next month.
“It comes from various places that individually are not going to result in significant changes that the public sees,” said Vermont Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn. He says that with the shortfall, Vermont will have to be more mindful of which federal grants they apply for and which ones will have state funds to match.
But the cuts are sparking deeper questions about how the state raises and spends money on roads. Cars have become more efficient, meaning the state is collecting less in gas taxes, and construction costs have spiked.
Lawmakers have floated new revenues for the Transportation Fund, including a purchase and use tax on roads, expanding the gas tax, a new tax on deliveries, or more fees on EVs. But Governor Phil Scott has said that he will veto any new taxes or fees.
“Transportation, roads, and bridges are a core function of government, and there’s a strong bipartisan effort to do something. What exactly that will be, I think we have to keep all of the options on the table at this point,” said Rep. Matt Walker, R-Swanton.
Flynn, like the governor, sees it more as a spending problem than a revenue problem. “Is there enough money, or do we have to reprioritize where and how we spend money?” he said.
The layoffs happen at the end of October, and the other cuts are effective immediately.
