Iowa Lawmakers Cut $4.85 Million From DOT Budget, Half of Original Target

After threatening to slash $9.7 million from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s operating budget, the state’s Legislature voted April 29 to slice that figure in half to $4.85 million before adjourning for the year.

The cuts were part of a $373 million transportation funding bill that passed the House 53-36 and the Senate 26-19.

Before those votes, Iowa DOT Director Paul Trombino told Transport Topics that the $9.7 million reduction would force him to dismiss 157 employees and affect services such as winter road maintenance. Presumably, Trombino will now have to let go 78 or 79 employees. That would add to the total of 409 positions eliminated during his five years in charge.

While Iowa did hike the price of fuel by 10 cents a gallon last year, all of that revenue goes to IDOT’s five-year, $3.5 billion construction budget, not operational costs such as salaries. 

Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat who opposed the cuts, told reporters after the votes that he hopes to restore the $4.85 million when the Legislature reconvenes in January, about midway through the fiscal year.