County officials and legislators are lashing out at a plan to cut billions in transportation projects across the state.
State Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, in an interview Tuesday, said the department is forced to address $3.3 billion in shortfalls. To close the gap over the current six-year spending plan, the agency will impose across the board budget cuts, hiring freezes, fee and parking rate increases as well as defer hundreds of millions in projects across the state.
“This is not a new problem for our state,” Wiedefeld said. “In 2020, the Department of Legislative Services identified that Maryland’s transportation program had a structural issue with operating costs increasing faster than overall revenues. Since 2020, these issues have been exacerbated by historic inflation impacting labor and materials costs, depleted COVID-19 relief funding, and the gradual decline of transportation’s largest revenue source – motor fuel tax revenue.”
To close the gap, the department will cut roughly $1 billion from its operating budget. Another $2 billion will be cut from its capital budget. Local governments will see a $400 million reduction.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Bryan P. Sears over at Maryland Matters
