March 22, 2015(The Independent) - Utah’s Unified Transportation Plan and UDOT authored a study in 2011 which projected a road funding shortfall of roughly $11.3 billion by 2040. In another study published by The Utah Foundation in January 2015, city and county engineers, managers, and council members were polled, revealing that at least 82 percent of city respondents and 95 percent of county respondents believed that transportation funding was not adequate for their areas. This indicated to researchers that a … Continued
March 18, 2015(Deseret News) - But before Utah gets to market-driven water conservation, it has to change how water districts are funded. Right now, a lot of them receive a good deal of money from property taxes. I’m not the first to suggest that this should go the way of the Water Wiggle. The first step is to make sure users pay the true cost of water, which is a lot more than what people currently pay. The next step … Continued
March 13, 2015(Salt Lake Tribune) - Businesses began publicly complaining roads were deteriorating and not keeping up with growth, hurting the ability to move goods. As the gas tax kept losing value from inflation, they said, highway officials stopped maintaining rural highways to focus on busier urban freeways. That started to provide political cover worried lawmakers needed. In early 2013, the Salt Lake Chamber formed the Utah Transportation Coalition. It produced studies saying economic benefits of such tax hikes would be … Continued
March 13, 2015(Utah Public Radio) - The 2015 session of the Utah Legislature reached the end of its constitutionally-mandated 45 days Thursday night. This year’s highlights included debates over Medicaid expansion, prison relocation, pay raises for teachers and state employees, the gas tax, anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community, religious freedom guarantees, the right to die, Utah’s caucus and convention system, medical marijuana, cock fighting and seat belts, among other issues. On Friday’s AU we’ll recap the 2015 legislative session with … Continued
March 04, 2015(Iron County Today) - Because of overdrafting, or taking out more each year than is being recharged, the water table has dropped in some areas of the valley by as much as 114 feet between 1939 and 2009, according to a Utah Geological Survey study. District Engineer Kelly Crane, of Ensign Engineering, said as the aquifer, or underground water source, is depleted, sediments compact and capacity is actually lost. The underground aquifer is the valley’s reservoir and needs to … Continued
March 04, 2015(The Independent) - SB231 also provides for a change in the distribution of money from the proposed change in fees, allotting more of the new money to the cities and counties, another issue addressed in The Independent article. According to the article, in a study conducted by The Utah Foundation, at least 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents—which included a range from engineers and managers to mayors and council members, expressed a belief that … Continued
February 25, 2015(Iron County Today) - More water is removed from the underground aquifer each year than is replaced, and water levels have been dropping for decades. Faced with the challenge of bringing the aquifer back into balance, and accommodating what the Utah Foundation estimates will be a 129 percent population increase between 2010 and 2050, the district, county and municipalities, as well as businesses, organizations and residents, will have to pitch in and work together, CICWCD General Manager Paul Monroe … Continued
February 25, 2015(UtahPolicy.com) - A recent Utah Foundation Study found that 82 percent of Utah’s cities and 95 percent of Utah’s counties believe current transportation funding is simply insufficient. Approximately $180 million is spent annually to preserve $25 billion in roadway infrastructure assets, including pavement and bridges. But UDOT has projected that an additional $67 million per year will be needed to maintain the statewide transportation network to the standard Utahans have come to expect. Additionally, as the Wasatch … Continued
February 25, 2015(Herald Journal) - According to the Utah Transportation Coalition, 584 of the state’s bridges are due for replacement. The organization also says that while funding for highways and other major roadways has increased in recent years, the funding for smaller roads has been inadequate. Kaysville Mayor Steve Hiatt told the crowd on the Capitol steps that a Utah Foundation survey of engineers, local government officials and others found that more than 80 percent thought current transportation funding was … Continued
February 20, 2015(KVNU - For the People) - Utah Foundation President Steve Kroes discusses his recent blog post on Utah’s tax burden and its correlation with a decline in the funding effort for public education with KVNU’s Jason Williams on the program For the People
February 22, 2015(Deseret News) - In 2010 and 2012, the Utah Foundation conducted a survey of Utah voters and party delegates. In both surveys the foremost concern for voters was “improving the quality of K-12 education.” Yet for delegates this issue only ranked eleventh in 2010 and sixth in 2012. Given this disconnect it should not be surprising that by a margin of more than 2-1 Utahns want our school board elections nonpartisan.
February 20, 2015(Deseret News) - One laudable trait is that our legislators tend to be fiscally conservative. The Utah Foundation recently reported that our taxes now take the lowest share of our income in the last 20 years, moving us down to 21st among states from 13th in 2007. The 2007 tax cuts have left hundreds of millions of dollars a year in Utahns’ pockets to spend, save or invest. Our tax structure has been hailed as one of the … Continued
February 19, 2015(Fox 13 News) - Utah schools have less money per student than any other state in the nation, including the District of Columbia. What would it take to spend as much as the national average? The answer is daunting. Utah’s K-12 public education system currently spends about $3.9 billion dollars a year. Divide that by our student population, and we’re spending about $6,206 dollars per year for each student. The national average is $10,608 per year per student, and … Continued
February 12, 2015(The Salt Lake Tribune) - Days after a House committee smothered a bill to slightly increase the state’s income tax rate and raise an additional $420 million a year for public education, a Senate panel approved a measure that would net a comparatively paltry $75 million annually by boosting a statewide property tax levy. The bill that was killed would be a much better idea, both in terms of ends and means, than the bill that is still alive. The … Continued
February 12, 2015(Fox 13) - What would it take to clean up Utah’s air completely? “The way we do that is everybody has to leave,” said Research Director of the Utah Foundation, Shawn Teigen. And if we want to stay? “Every once in a while, people say we should cut down the mountains or install big fans,” said Kerry Kelly, Associate Director of the University of Utah’s Program for Air Quality, Health and Society. In other words, air along the … Continued
February 08, 2015(The Independent (St. George)) - At least 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents, ranging from engineers and managers to mayors and council members, expressed a belief that current transportation funding is not adequate. The study, conducted by The Utah Foundation, collected responses from 40 percent of Utah’s cities and over two-thirds of its counties. St. George and Washington County were considered to be urban and outlying cities and towns of the county were classified as suburban … Continued
February 04, 2015(KSL.com) - Our roads, public transportation services and trails are the same way. That’s what a new Utah Foundation research report entitled, “The Roads Less Traveled” has found regarding Utah’s local transportation systems. The report found that every dollar invested in preventative road maintenance saves $10-$25 in costly future rehabilitation work. When the benefits to preventative care are so significant, why aren’t cities and counties keeping up?
February 04, 2015(Iron County Today) - In addition to dealing with the already declining water levels, officials in Iron County must look to the future and plan for growth. According to a report by the Utah Foundation published in September 2014, Iron County is expected to see a population increase of 129 percent between 2010 and 2050. The population is projected to jump from 46,163 to about 105,797.
February 01, 2015(Deseret News) - So how can we clean out and freshen up the garage? Utah’s Division of Air Quality creates an inventory of pollutants from each of three main categories: transportation, industrial and homes. Cars and other forms of transportation account for 57 percent of the particulate matter, 32 percent of it comes from homes (and small businesses and localized sources), and only 11 percent from major industrial sources, according to a report last year by the Utah … Continued
February 01, 2015(Salt Lake Tribune) - Alarmingly, “A new study says 82 percent of Utah cities and 95 percent of counties report their transportation funding is insufficient, causing half of their roads to deteriorate into their current poor or fair condition. The Utah Foundation also said that fixing such poor roads is three to five times more expensive than regular maintenance of good roads, akin to how regular brushing of teeth can prevent a high cost root canal.” Now, delete the … Continued
February 01, 2015(The Spectrum) - City and county-owned roads make up more than three-quarters of Utah’s transportation network, but a new survey of transportation managers in local government indicates there isn’t enough money to keep up with the demand. Ongoing maintenance and demand for new infrastructure are outpacing available funding, according to 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents in the survey, conducted by the Utah Foundation.
January 29, 2015(KNRS TalkRadio) - Well it’s kind of undeniably true that Utah has some pretty terrible roads. Maybe not the worst in existence, but when you can tell that you’ve crossed the border to another state simply because the roads are suddenly smoother, then you know you’ve got a bit of an issue. But the question remains, we’ve been paying a whopping 24.5 cents per gallon for over a decade on state gas taxes, and yet our roads are … Continued
January 28, 2015(UtahPolicy.com) - Most Utah cities and counties say they aren’t getting enough funding to properly maintain their roads. A new study from the Utah Foundation finds 82% of Utah cities and 92% of Utah counties say their transportation funding isn’t sufficient to meet their current needs. Despite the recent focus on expanding and maintaining the freeways, that’s just a quarter of the roadways in the state. The other 3/4ths are under local jurisdictions. The foundation study revealed … Continued
January 29, 2015(Deseret News) - City and county officials convened Wednesday to discuss the findings of a new study that shows a drastic need for more local road funding across Utah. The Utah Foundation study released Wednesday, authored by research analyst Mallory Bateman, found that 82 percent of city respondents and 95 percent of county respondents consider their current transportation funding is lacking.
January 28, 2015(Standard Examiner) - Funding for city and county road maintenance and upgrades falls woefully short of needs, according to a new study released Wednesday by the Utah Foundation. The independent Salt Lake City-based research organization surveyed engineers, managers and elected officials, and 82 percent of city and 95 percent of county respondents indicated they believe that current transportation funding is insufficient, according to the 20-page “The Roads Less Traveled: Survey Analysis and Research Regarding Utah’s Local Roads.”
