Another in a series of audits of Virginia’s transportation department has found what some have suspected for a long time: the agency has no priorities, and it’s largely because of political meddling.
The latest audit, conducted by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) finds that VDOT did, for a brief time, have objective criteria for determining which road projects to undertake. Page 31 of the JLARC report has a handy flow chart showing how VDOT’s planning office decided which projects to put first in line. At the top of the list: “Provide a transportation system that facilitates the efficient movement of people and goods”…or what you and I might call congestion relief. Safety came next, then economic development, “quality of life” and lastly, efficient management.
But as the recession took hold, and VDOT’s budget began to shrink, even these rather broad criteria were abandoned. And just as VDOT was ready to implement a more streamlined decision process, the federal government’s stimulus program arrived on the scene and further eroded any sort of priority-setting within the agency. So hodge-podge has VDOT’s building and maintenance list become since then that one agency planner says ‘“A lot of [VDOT’s current projects] got in there from a purely political standpoint.”’ A member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which actually selects which projects VDOT will pursue, told JLARC the ‘“process is too political and too often the ‘squeaky wheel’ gets more attention. We should prioritize our constrained monies on projects that are most needed and can actually be built.”’
That’s no way to run a multi-billion dollar state agency.
JLARC recommends a change in state law to require both VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board “to continually apply a performance-driven project prioritization process,” even during economic downturns. This is absolutely necessary, particularly if, as the JLARC report notes, political interests and squeaky wheels are what drive Virginia’s current transportation policy.
Governor McDonnell says he will do “everything necessary” to see that the system is changed. That’s encouraging. But it does raise a question…
…throughout the administration of Tim Kaine, Virginians were told – repeatedly – that all we needed to end our transportation woes was more money. With each new audit of VDOT (audits which Virginians were told were just dodges and wouldn’t find anything), we’ve learned that it had hundreds of millions of dollars sitting unused or unclaimed and even if it did use them, it wouldn’t have known which projects to tackle first.
It’s enough to make one wonder what thorough, outside audits of other state agencies might uncover.
