Snelling Center for Government

Inviting the public to help rank strategic priorities for Vermont’s transportation system and recommend how to fund those priorities

 
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The Problem

Vermont has fallen behind in the rehabilitation of roads and bridges. Our infrastructure is reaching an age and condition where preventive maintenance will be ineffective. One choice will be full replacement at extreme cost; another will be continued deterioration and abandonment of some infrastructure when traveler safety cannot be assured. In Principles of the Road to Affordability, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) states that the timely preventative investment of $1,000,000 will avoid road bed replacements of $5,000,000 or bridge replacements of $10,000,000.  Currently, Vermont is not making sufficient preventative investments to avoid those higher long-run costs associated with deferred maintenance. VTrans working documents and Joint Fiscal Office estimates suggest that transportation revenues will need to increase by 50 to 100% over the next 20 years (depending on inflation) in order to maintain current condition and service levels.

A History of Frugality

Vermont has opted for frugality on roads, bridges and other capital expenditures. In the last 10 years (1997 to 2007) we reduced long term debt from $536 million to $438 million. Viewed another way, our general obligation debt was nearly 4% of personal income; it is now less than 2%. This consistent discipline has resulted in a bond rating upgrade to the coveted “AAA” level. Moreover, recent administrations of both major political parties have successfully maintained discipline around not raising tax rates. One way this goal has been achieved has been to transfer transportation monies to support general fund expenditures. Over the years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been transferred from the Transportation Fund to the General Fund. One third of the revenues collected from the Motor Vehicle Purchase and Use Tax is used to support the Education Fund, thereby offsetting an equal amount of property tax.

Snelling Center Project

The Snelling Center is a non-partisan, non-profit institution with a mission that includes promoting informed citizen participation in shaping public policy. With financial support from public and private grants, we have worked to make a difficult and complicated issue more understandable to the public.  We have done this by distilling a large volume of data down to essential elements bearing on the pace of deterioration, cost inflation, the priority of transportation in the state budget, and the public debt and interest rate environment.  

Through presentations, conferences, and web surveys we are making it possible for average citizens to participate in shaping solutions to this major problem facing Vermont.  The objective is to engage the public in strategic choices about transportation:  to distill principles, rank priorities, and consider funding alternatives.

Our intention is to report to the Governor, Legislature, and public on our findings in November of 2008.