September 25, 2009
Idaho's shrinking revenue
Governor orders calls for 'tiered' budget holdbacks
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter announced his plan today (Sept. 25) for
addressing an estimated $151 million shortfall in this year’s state budget. It
includes tiered spending holdbacks based on the nature of each agency’s mission
and a request that the Legislature use a reserve account to avoid a reduction
in public school funding.
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ITD announces $8.6 million budget reduction
ITD announced today an $8.6 million holdback of its FY2010
budget based on revenue that is not meeting projections made this spring. The
holdback is part of the department’s annual budget request due Sept. 1 of each
year. The Idaho Legislature appropriated $251 million in state
funds to the department before it adjourned in May. ITD administrators,
however, indicate current funding sources are about $242.4 million. That
represents a shortfall of 3.4 percent
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Acting director explains ITD holdback
Today (Sept.
25), Governor Otter issued an Executive Order reducing FY 10 spending authority
by an average of 4% to those agencies funded by the General Fund. ITD is not
funded from the General Fund. A memo from the Division of Financial Management
states: “The holdback does not apply to other funding sources such as
dedicated and federal funds.” ITD is a dedicated and federally funded agency.
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Optimism is a big part of recovery
Opinion by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter
One message came through loud and clear from my recent Business Summit
with representatives of all kinds of companies from throughout Idaho: There’s a
lot of optimism among business leaders that hard work, creativity and the
quality of our people will enable us to emerge successfully from this economic
slump.
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Transportation board
Board members interview candidates for director's position
The Idaho Transportation Board received more than 120 applications for the vacant director’s position at ITD, announced board chairman Darrell Manning. Board members recently conducted interviews with about a dozen of the applicants and will conduct a second round of interviews in the near future. The board was pleased with the size of the applicant pool and impressed by the quality of applicants.
Board considers report on multi-modal activities
The Idaho Transportation Board’s final district tour of the
year on Sept. 16, 17 focused on multi-modal activities in the Wood River
Valley. Local officials provided an update on relocating the
Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey as part of the informational tour on
Wednesday (Sept. 16). The relocation sites have been narrowed to three, with a
preferred location identified along Idaho 75 in Blaine County.
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Highway safety
Three major grants will enhance state's safety efforts
ITD’s Office of Highway Operations and Safety recently landed three grants from
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) totaling more than
$1.5 million for Idaho’s highway safety activities. OHOS was awarded $500,000 under the Section 408 State Traffic Safety
Information System Improvement Grant Program. The money will be used to improve
the traffic records systems so that other program and project decisions can be
made based on accurate and complete data.
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Employee recognition
Saying "thanks" can go a long way
By David Lee, Human Nature at Work
I just had an experience that reminded me of how often even really brilliant managers neglect to use the "secret weapon" of the best managers and best employers. It's the practice that perhaps more than anything spurs employees to work harder. So what is the practice that leads to a more motivated, committed, engaged
workforce? Expressing appreciation and gratitude.
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Charitable giving
Employees have chance to help those in most need
The State Employees’
Charitable Giving Campaign began Monday (Sept. 21) and runs through Oct. 30.
We have the opportunity each year to extend our public service commitment
to help our neighbors and our communities every day, all year long. We will have fund raising activities the week of Oct. 26. This is our
chance to join together to learn more about charitable giving process and the
people and programs that have benefited from our past contributions.
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ITD mailbox
Thanks for wonderful airstrip experiences
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Highways
Gov. Otter helps kick off Twin Falls project
Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter joined citizens, business leaders and government officials last week to launch a highway construction project that will create or sustain approximately 500 jobs, improve safety and reduce congestion in Twin Falls. More than 100 people participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Twin Falls Alternate Route, Stage 2 project.
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D-4 group honored for highway cleanup efforts
A program to rehabilitate offenders in Jerome County also rehabilitates the aesthetic qualities of U.S. 93 west of Twin Falls. Participants in the Jerome County Sheriff's work program regularly clean a two-mile segment of the highway and were honored last week for their efforts. Inmates have cleaned the highway between mileposts 51 and 53 the past decade. They also migrate to other highways and reads that need to be cleaned.
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STIP
One-month comment period opens for planning document
ITD will open a monh-long public comment period Sunday (Sept. 20) to collect input on its FY2010-2013 draft of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The comment period will extend through Oct. 21. All comments on the STIP draft will be reviewed in late October. The Idaho Transportation Board is expected to vote on the planning document in November.
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News to Share
 Abandoned / adopted puppy adjusts to new home
If you don't recall, Uber was the five-week-old puppy that was found last October in the District 5 Downey maintenance yard. He had been trapped in guardrail for three days. He had been rained on, snowed on and had survived freezing nighttime temperatures. Plus, his paw was squished flat in the guardrail. The Downey/McCammon crew patched him up and took him to work to keep an eye on him.
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COMMENT: I think it is commendable that management has formed a team to find ways to recognize employees for "jobs well done." Maybe having a few committee members from the district maintenance groups would be a real asset when looking for ways to recognize "all" ITD employees, not just those who work at HQ.
For the complete comment and response, please ...
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