Hundreds of layoffs loom at ODOT due to funding impasse

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Oregon Department of Transportation is facing layoffs after the state legislature wrapped up its session last week without approving millions more for the department.

Hundreds of layoff notices are anticipated this week, with up to 700 coming as soon as Monday.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek held a press conference soon after lawmakers wrapped up their session — two days before it constitutionally had to end.

“I have workers, 600 to 700 workers, in the Oregon Department of Transportation who are now facing layoffs, because for whatever reason, people couldn’t come together as Oregonians to fund that,” Kotek said.

The additional money for ODOT was supposed to come from a higher gas tax as well as higher vehicle title and registration fees.  

ODOT said the money would have helped fix and maintain state roads and bridges, but none of it would have gone to cities and counties.

Republican lawmakers are claiming a win, saying they stood firm blocking new taxes by voting against the ODOT funding bill.

Republican House Minority Leader Rep. Christine Drazan said, “This idea that we cannot cut anywhere in government isn’t realistic for families. Families are making cuts and people everyday are trying to figure out how to tighten their belt. I don’t want anybody to lose their job, but I don’t want to assume that everything that a state agency did yesterday – that we have to do it no matter what in perpetuity.”

With 30 days to sign bills into law, Kotek can choose to call lawmakers back into a special session.

Kevin Glenn, ODOT’s communications manager, shared the following statement with KOIN 6 News:

For many years, ODOT has informed the Oregon Legislature that a structural revenue issue driven by flattening and declining gas tax revenue, inflation, and statutory restrictions on available funding would eventually force the agency to dramatically reduce its staffing and maintenance service levels if no intervention came forward. For the last three biennia, ODOT has taken progressively larger voluntary cuts to stay within budget.

Since last summer, ODOT has broadly shared that if the legislature did not address this shortfall during this legislative session, deeper cuts would have to start in the 2025-27 biennium.  

On Friday night, the legislature ended the session without passing a transportation package providing ODOT with either new funding, funding flexibility, or even an interim investment to stabilize services for the immediate upcoming biennium. As a result, ODOT will have to make deep and painful cuts starting in the next few weeks. 

ODOT cannot use federal funding for maintenance. State law prevents the agency from using project or transit money to pay for maintenance or agency operations. ODOT has taken voluntary reductions over the past six years, and no further reductions are available that won’t have consequences for Oregonians. The only way to balance the budget and live within available funding is to make deep and severe cuts. These cuts will harm Oregon’s transportation system, Oregon’s travelers, and the operational health of the agency. 

This week, ODOT will begin the layoff process. By the end of July, hundreds of positions will no longer be at ODOT. The agency is using vacancy savings wherever possible in order to minimize the number of layoffs but will still lose hundreds of current hard-working employees. 

ODOT cannot solve this structural revenue issue on its own and it won’t fix itself. Each year that passes, the vehicle fleet grows more efficient and uses less gas per mile driven. And with each year, the cost of doing business gets a little higher with inflation, while revenue sources stay flat. The only way out of this problem is for the legislature to dedicate additional funding to maintenance and agency operations or provide greater flexibility in how funds are spent.   

Oregon’s travelers will soon experience a less reliable transportation system. ODOT staff dedicated their professional lives to this agency and to supporting the traveling public. We will continue to do the best we can, with the resources we have, to keep Oregonians safe.