Rural transportation officials seek $33 million to sustain Smart Fund that leverages federal grants

Kevin Adam, representing rural transportation interests, told the Tri City Council on April 30 that the Arizona Smart Fund has helped rural communities prepare competitive federal grant applications and that additional state funding is needed to keep the program operating at current award levels.

Adam said roughly $60,000,000 in state awards from the Smart Fund have already supported projects that yielded about $140,000,000 in federal grants, and that funded projects could still generate another $220,000,000 if additional applications are completed. He said the Smart Fund’s remaining balance is approximately $15,000,000 and that to sustain the current pace of awards through the next state fiscal year the program would need about $33,000,000.

“We would, at a minimum, like to see that program funded to where we can at least keep the same award rates going through the next state fiscal year,” Adam said. He noted the governor’s budget includes $13,000,000 for the Smart Fund and that Representative Teresa Martinez introduced a bill that would provide $10,000,000; rural transportation advocates said those amounts fall short of the $33,000,000 they recommended.

Adam also said one-time revenues in the current state outlook are likely the only immediate source for additional transportation funding this session, and that with less one-time money available legislators may instead direct smaller discretionary amounts (for example, roughly $1,000,000) to each lawmaker for constituent projects. He urged Tri City jurisdictions to prioritize Smart Fund requests and to coordinate with RTEC to maximize the chance of securing state assistance for federal match and project readiness costs.

Adam closed by urging continued emphasis on directing available state revenues to transportation and on securing statewide bipartisan support for the Smart Fund.