Commissioners briefed on ODOT staffing and risk if House Bill 3991 is repealed
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Summary
Commissioners reported ODOT will keep field stations open this winter only if House Bill 3991 remains in effect; if a repeal succeeds, staff warned ODOT would have burned reserves and deeper cuts would follow next winter.
Commissioners reported out on a recent meeting with Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials and regional transportation partners. ODOT representatives told the group they plan to keep field stations — including the one in Sisters — open this winter but are relying on the recently passed House Bill 3991 to sustain operations.
Commissioners said ODOT is drawing on reserves now to keep hundreds of employees and field stations operating in the near term; if a repeal of House Bill 3991 succeeds, ODOT would have used those reserves and would likely face deeper, more severe cuts next winter. A commissioner described extensive deferred maintenance and potholes and said that prior capital-focused legislation (House Bill 2017) had prioritized large capital projects without adequate operations-and-maintenance funding.
Provenance Topic intro: Commissioner report on ODOT field stations (transcript excerpt: "Yesterday, I was actually at the transportation meeting for the state in Salem... no ODOT stations such as Sisters will be closed. They said everything is going to be kept open.")
Topic finish: Commissioner remarks on maintenance and the interplay of HB2017 capital projects with operations funding.