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Budget committee debates shifting state highway funds from street preservation to transit, safety
Summary
Committee members urged analysis of reducing the MPO's historic share of state highway funds for street preservation to free money for transit service or safety projects; staff will bring scenario analyses and cost estimates back to the committee and policy board.
A multi-hour exchange at the March 17 Bend MPO budget committee meeting centered on whether discretionary state highway fund (SHF) dollars should continue to prioritize city street preservation or be redirected toward transit and safety projects.
Councilor Ariel Mendes and several committee members said they want staff to develop scenarios that show the consequences of reducing the current SHF allocation to street preservation (staff said the allocation is about 40% of SHF discretionary funds). Mendes said she would support exploring reductions that would allow more funding for transit or neighborhood safety projects.
Committee members pointed to differing community demands: while pavement condition has improved after prior investments, advocates and some members said unmet needs remain for transit frequency and safety improvements. “I would be willing to at least discuss that even redirecting those funds to something like transit improvements or safety,” Mendes said.
Transit director Bob Townsen offered a planning figure during the discussion: one year of new transit service to a neighborhood could cost roughly $300,000 to $400,000 depending on the service type, a number members used to estimate tradeoffs.
Staff cautioned that some SHF allocations and grant awards flow later in the fiscal year and that ODOT recently reduced its match on FHWA planning funds to 50% for the coming year; staff warned match levels could change again absent legislative action, increasing fiscal uncertainty. Committee members asked staff to bring the city pavement analyst (David) and scenario modeling to the next substantive meeting so members can see the long-term pavement implications of reallocating SHF money.
Next steps: the committee approved recommending the FY27 budget to the MPO policy board but explicitly directed staff to return with a set of options (for example, reducing street preservation from ~40% to 20% or 25%) and model what those changes would buy for transit and safety. Staff said they expect to present scenarios before the policy board adopts the budget so public comment can inform any change.
