LOC News
COVID-19 Relief – One-Time Transportation Funding
The federal COVID-19 relief package signed into law at the end of 2020 provided an allocation of transportation funding to every state. For Oregon, $123 million will be available, and includes roughly $23 million in direct, programmed distributions to small and large Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) and a balance of $32.8 million shared between cities and counties. The remaining balance of $68 million is an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) pool. Additional funds are available to backfill the revenue losses at port toll bridges.
The LOC worked with the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and ODOT to find an equitable distribution plan for cities and counties that were not part of the programmed funding. The LOC’s Transportation Policy Committee provided direction to LOC staff for the ongoing dialogue with ODOT and the AOC. Guiding principles will include: no duplication of funding for cities or counties if they are already part of a large or small MPO; finding a balance between large and small remaining cities and counties; using existing transportation programs; and identifying distribution levels that present value instead of depending on the State Highway Fund (SHF) formula for all cities not covered by an MPO. For example, a straight formulated distribution provides less value to cities with a population less than 5,000, since the pool of un-allocated funds is not a large amount.
The Oregon Transportation Commission will be meeting next week. The LOC and the AOC will be supporting a distribution plan that has the following top-level breakdown. Cities with a population greater than 5,000 will receive a SHF formulated allocation, and those less than 5,000 will have access to funds as part of the Small City Allotment grant program. The 2021 competitive grant program has already awarded $5 million to cities across Oregon. Based on the distribution plan below, another $1.3 million will be added to 2021 allotment for award before the end of 2021. ODOT and the advisory committee will be looking at the applications received during 2021 cycle and use this list of projects for evaluating awards.
Overall, ODOT has remained a solid partner and the LOC appreciates their willingness to work together and develop a distribution plan that presents value across the board. This relationship is very important for the future if the U.S. Congress successfully advances a comprehensive infrastructure plan.
Contact: Jim McCauley, Legislative Director - jmccauley@orcities.org
Last Updated 3/5/21