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DOT warns of winter maintenance and fleet funding shortfalls in budget briefing
Summary
The Department of Transportation told the committee it faces high vacancy rates, a shortfall in winter maintenance funding and underinvestment in fleet replacement; the department requested adjustments and three statutory clarifications.
William Cass, commissioner of the Department of Transportation, briefed the committee on the agency’s budget and operational challenges, emphasizing winter maintenance funding, fleet replacement and staffing vacancies.
Cass said the department has operated with a substantial vacancy rate—about 24% agency-wide—and has had to rely on a winter retention incentive to recruit temporary drivers with commercial licenses; that incentive supports roughly 150 volunteers during winter and has been credited with meeting operational needs in recent severe winters. The DOT reported transfers of approximately $10.5 million in highway funds to support winter maintenance this season.
The department said it had purposefully underbudgeted some winter and fleet maintenance items in the agency submission to meet level-budget targets and sought the committee’s help to fund a winter retention incentive fully and to align winter maintenance class lines to ensure funding is available at the start of winter. The DOT requested roughly $7.6 million annually to meet a three-year average winter maintenance projection; the House funded about half of that request.
Cass also said the department should be investing about $11 million annually in fleet replacement to maintain an optimal replacement cycle; the current budget funds roughly $6.5–7.0 million a year. He said capital-bonding had helped previously but is not an optimal way to fund equipment that has shorter useful lives.
On staffing and organizational change, DOT officials described shifting eight positions into a new safety office that reports directly to the commissioner and shifting a UAS/drone position from general fund to Highway Fund to reflect project alignment. The department said vacancy-driven workload pressures require continued investment in recruitment, training and retention, including using federal funds to expand training budgets.
Commissioner Cass outlined three statutory changes the department would seek in HB2: add state-owned railroad quarters to the limits identified for obstruction/flooding management (RSA 236), clarify removal and cost-recovery authority for abandoned campers and vehicles at park-and-ride facilities (RSA 262:32), and formalize DOT authority to manage encumbrances arising from federally funded projects. Committee members asked about specifics; Cass said the department would provide draft language.
No committee vote occurred during the presentation; DOT asked the committee to consider restoring or adjusting the winter retention incentive and to note the longer-term need to increase fleet-replacement investment.
