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Legislative tour produces positive dialogue

A delegation led by board chairman Darrell Manning and ITD Director Pam Lowe met with legislators the past two weeks to outline the department’s priorities heading into the 2008 Legislative session.

The legislative outreach series included stops in all six districts and focused on the initial draft of ITD’s efficiency report, a presentation on revenue needs and a brief summary of the GARVEE (Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle) Program.

“We were very well received in all six districts, and we had great dialogue with legislators,” Lowe said. “We had a lot of positive reactions to our efficiency report, both about the structure and format of the report and about the details outlined in the report. Many of the legislators knew that we were in the process of doing an efficiency report, but they seemed to really appreciate the efficiencies we identified.”

Jeff Stratten and Rik Hinton of the ITD Communications Office coordinated the report with extensive input from every division and district.

“Rik and Jeff did an outstanding job pulling all of the details together. The report will be a key part of our proposal to the Legislature’s Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC),” Lowe said.

The legislative tour included presentations to districts five and six in one day, districts one and two in a single day and separate presentations in districts four and three. The concluding session in Boise this week drew 20-25 legislators.

Each of the sessions included a welcome and introductions by the corresponding Idaho Transportation Board member, introductory remarks by the chairman and an informal presentation by Lowe. Joining them on the tour were: Scott Stokes, deputy director; Julie Pipal, manager of Budget, Policy and Intergovernmental Relations; Dave Tolman, administrator of the Division of Administration; Jeff Stratten; and the district engineer and assistant district engineer.

Public Transportation Administrator Randy Kyrias also attended the session in Boise to address any questions related to public transportation in the Treasure Valley.

“One thing that was evident at each of the meetings was the respect legislators have for our district engineers and staffs,” Lowe said. “They have established strong working relationships and a level of trust in each district. “