DOT to spend stimulus money quickly

Despite abruptly firing their top administrator, despite a pending legislative attempt to politically neuter them, and despite not having a draft project list to begin spending $1 billion in federal stimulus money, state Department of Transportation leaders say that drivers shouldn’t despair.

Members of the DOT board who were interviewed Friday said the stimulus money, which may start flowing as early as Monday, will be spent quickly. Some also expected the department to try to restore significant amounts of money — and therefore projects. For example, at least one board member wants to restore money to the active budget that just-fired Commissioner Gena Evans set aside to cover possible overruns. Other money might be more difficult to return to the books because Evans said it was just a phantom of poor bookkeeping.

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“I can’t speak for the board, but I certainly think you will see more projects going out the door immediately,” and not just because of the stimulus funds, board member David Doss said.

After 14 months of polarizing changes, it was unclear how much Evans’ ouster would immediately alter the department’s direction, especially since many of her financial decisions were backed by state auditors. As commissioner, she was the CEO, responsible for day-to-day operations of the $2 billion department. She was hired by and reported to the 13-member policy-making board, which is elected by the Legislature.

Her tenure started with a bruising battle for the job, which she won by a one-vote margin. She made one announcement after another of disarray at the department, vowing to fix it but tanking many employees’ morale. In her 14 months on the job, the shortest span of any DOT commissioner, she survived a number of confidence votes following scandals and discontent over falling road spending. State auditors said she was cleaning up the books with their help, but their findings led to a squeeze on projects.

Board members Friday sought to draw a distinction between a giant state institution full of career public servants and the leader of the organization.

“I think we’re in good shape,” said Brandon Beach, the DOT board member who made the motion Thursday to fire Evans. “I feel the department is moving in the right direction.”

Not everyone was as optimistic.

At the Atlanta Regional Commission, which helps draw up the transportation project list for metro Atlanta, Chairman Sam Olens said the department was already overwhelmed before the influx of federal cash.

“My concern is here we’re taking in the stimulus money and handing it to an agency that frankly can’t handle what’s on its plate already,” he said.

His agency has sometimes clashed with the DOT.

After Evans’ dismissal, the board promoted chief engineer Gerald Ross to be interim commissioner. On Friday, a spokesman said Ross was too busy to comment to a reporter about the state of the department.

As one of her last acts in office, Evans on Thursday reeled off a list of cuts she had made. Litter pickup contracts are canceled. Fading road signs won’t be regularly replaced. Less mowing, less repainting road stripes, less maintenance to repair ruts at road edges.

Board Vice Chairman Larry Walker said he feared such cuts were a “false economy” that could prompt lawsuits, and board member Rudy Bowen said the state would “really get a black eye.”

On Friday, Chairman Bill Kuhlke, who voted against firing Evans, said he would support trying to find road project money again, though he said it may require new legislation.

He wants to be able to start projects with only a portion of the necessary money, assuming more will come later — especially for expensive projects that would be built over several years.

“If we have to stay in the situation where we have to have cash on hand for what we bid, we can’t do that,” Kuhlke said.

It seemed unlikely that the DOT could get much support from Gold Dome leaders for anything other than a boot out the door.

Gov. Sonny Perdue and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle were furious at the board over the firing. Evans was Perdue’s handpicked candidate for commissioner in 2007. And when she was about to resign over scandal last year, Cagle slipped over to the DOT for a secret meeting in a stairwell to persuade her to stay even as a packed board meeting waited next door.

This week, Cagle, who supports Perdue’s initiative (SB 200, HB 605) to gut the powers of the DOT board, said the board’s vote on Evans would only make it easier to pass the measure. On a more immediate level, a Perdue spokesman said Friday that he wasn’t sure why the DOT board ought to be selecting stimulus projects at all.

“I don’t know if that’s their call to make,” spokesman Bert Brantley said. “I think the governor’s going to be held accountable” for the projects.

“I think the hope is there won’t need to be any kind of a disagreement over what kinds of projects we’re looking at,” he said. “But given the board’s actions and the way they’re doing business over there … that certainly calls into question their ability to select projects that will benefit the state and provide good value for Georgians.”

The board on Thursday approved a general division for the stimulus money. About half will go into maintenance such as repaving, a quarter into road widening, and the rest into other work including bridge and safety projects. Unlike states such as North Carolina and Texas, which approved some project lists last week, Georgia hasn’t come up with a whittled-down draft. DOT spokesman David Spear said the department was close.

DOT board members rejected suspicion of the DOT’s readiness, saying Ross had been told to bring in staff from other offices to help him if necessary.

“I think we’re perfectly set to continue the job and get the projects out,” Kuhlke said.