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Board participates in taxpayers' conference;
Governor shares concern about funding

The Idaho Transportation Board attended the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho annual conference luncheon in downtown Boise as part of its Nov. 14 business meeting. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter was the keynote speaker. In his address, Otter acknowledged the need for additional revenue for the state’s transportation system.

However, he said that before fuel taxes are increased, he would like to see more efficiency measures from the Transportation Department.

Otter noted that Idaho has a need for $16 billion in transportation funding. Based on the premise that 10 percent is needed to take care of assets, that means transportation needs $1.6 billion. He said the department definitely does not have enough money for its future needs.
The governor said he believes all of the current fuel tax should be dedicated for transportation purposes. He supports removing Idaho State Police from the distribution formula. This would free up additional money for “asphalt and concrete.”

Other board discussion

Efficiency measures (See related story)
The board received copies of the updated draft of the department’s efficiency report. The document summarizes the efficiency measures ITD has undertaken since 1994, those to be implemented in 2008, awards that ITD has received and key indicators. The recent efficiencies are making a real difference by improving customer service, offsetting the costs of inflation and redirecting savings to the department’s highest priorities.

Some of the key indicators since 1990 are:

  • The state full-time positions (FTPs) increased 35 percent while ITD’s only increased 4.2 percent.
  • ITD’s appropriation increased 247 percent (including GARVEE projects).
  • The Division of Highways’ appropriation increased 140 percent while the divisions’ FTEs increased only 4.6 percent.
  • The number of driver licenses and registrations issued increased 43 percent, while the Division of Motor Vehicle’s FTPs decreased 12 percent (the FTP count does not include Port of Entry positions).
  • Statewide, the annual vehicle miles traveled increased 55 percent.

Some efficiency highlights include:

  • Through the re-engineering of current projects as part of the practical design initiative, $50.8 million in savings were identified.
  • The materials and testing team identified 25 efficiencies for immediate implementation, with those changes to be added to the specification book and placed in contracts issued beginning in January.
  • The Division of Motor Vehicles has eight new online services, saving the need for seven new employees.
  • The Division of Aeronautics is making flight schedules available online so state employees will be able to check the availability of seats and calculate costs.

The draft report will be presented to legislators during the upcoming legislative outreach meetings to be held in each district, and then finalized for the 2008 legislative session.

Practical Design savings result in program changes (See related story)
Through the Practical Design concept, under which projects are reviewed to determine what changes could be made to reduce the project scope and cost without compromising the overall intent of the project or jeopardizing safety, District Engineers identified more than $50 million in savings.

Types of modifications include changing the pavement depth, design exceptions, rehabilitating only the travel lanes, changing seal coat limits and rehabilitating rather than replacing segments of deteriorated highways. The savings, which are to be retained within the respective districts, have been committed to advancing projects, new pavement preservation projects, adding passing lanes and restoring priority projects to their initial concepts.

The board approved changes to the current Highway Capital Investment Program to incorporate the projects to be funded through the Practical Design initiative.

Published 11-23-07