MD: Baltimore-area leaders tell Wes Moore’s administration transit cuts are going too far

A slate of Baltimore City and Baltimore County leaders took aim at Gov. Wes Moore’s administration Monday as they called the latest cuts to Maryland’s transportation plan an “existential threat” that must be resolved through a more aggressive state funding effort.

In a pair of public meetings to give state officials feedback on a new six-year, $19 billion statewide spending plan, the list of almost entirely Democratic elected leaders and advocates from both jurisdictions spoke almost in unison. Baltimore is still not being prioritized, and just making promises — for better trains and roads, bridges and buses — is not enough, they said.

“The Moore-Miller administration, they reached out on the campaign trail. They were going to ‘Leave no one behind.’” Baltimore City Councilman Antonio Glover said at the city meeting, referencing what Moore has called both his campaign slogan and governing philosophy. “And what I see here is that we’re going to leave a lot of Baltimoreans behind.”

The Maryland Department of Transportation said last month it proposed cutting $1.3 billion from the six-year plan, a move that would defer some maintenance projects, slow down the transition to fully electric state buses and pause the development stage of some projects.

About $3.3 billion in cuts were made earlier this year for the same reasons — mainly, a funding system that is not keeping pace with rising costs and spending — though some of that was restored when officials tapped rainy day funds and raised some vehicle-related fees.

The transportation funding shortfall is just one part of a range of budget issues that state lawmakers must address. They are expected to face a separate multi-billion-dollar deficit in the state’s general fund when they return to Annapolis for the annual legislative session in January, and billions more are needed for planned education and climate programs. Though some have pushed for tax overhauls, Moore has repeatedly said he has a “high bar” for new taxes and has so far focused on cutting from existing programs, borrowing more and pulling from reserves.

The new changes for transportation spending don’t directly impact major projects like the Red Line light rail or the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

But city leaders have said that future plans are at risk, and reversing decades of underinvestment in the region is only possible by restoring the cuts and finding new sources of revenue.

“This budget is an existential threat for the continued operation of Baltimore City’s already struggling transit system,” said Councilman Zeke Cohen, who is expected to win next month’s election for City Council president.

The local pushback has been effective in some ways so far during Moore’s tenure. Originally planned cuts that were restored earlier this year, for instance, included the share of highway user revenue that goes to local governments — which Baltimore receives the largest portion of because it maintains all of its own roads and bridges. Both city and county officials have said changes to those funds in previous administrations led to years of underfunding, and a 2022 law increased the share for local governments.

In a common theme at the city meeting, Cohen questioned why the transportation plan makes cuts affecting Baltimore but continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the metro system covering Washington, D.C., and its suburbs in Maryland and Virginia. Cohen said there are $585 million worth of cuts to the Maryland Transit Administration that will impact the city while part of Maryland’s allocation to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will increase by about $26 million.

The Purple Line — the Washington metro expansion that has suffered from cost and time overruns — is also still receiving a full commitment from the state while the Red Line remains years away and without any dedicated construction funds.

“Why is a transit rider in the Washington region worth more investment than a transit rider in west Baltimore?” Cohen asked Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.

The state’s top transportation official responded that they do not matter less, and it’s a constant balancing act. Cohen later told The Baltimore Sun he got a call from the governor’s office after the meeting and that Moore’s team said they were committed to working toward a solution. He said it’s an issue that Moore clearly “cares about deeply as a former Baltimorean.”

Moore’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The city leaders focused their concerns on the Red Line, the east-west route that is expected to cost up to $7.2 billion, and another north-to-south transit route from Lutherville to South Baltimore.

Moore has heavily promoted but not developed a full funding plan for the Red Line, which he revived eight years after former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan canceled it.

City Councilman Ryan Dorsey said that “despite Gov. Moore really stumping” for the project, the current plan ensures no construction is likely until at least 2031, “an unacceptably late timeline for any level of visible progress on that project.”

The Red Line was also a concern raised at a meeting between Baltimore County and state transportation officials earlier Monday. Monday’s meetings were part of a a feedback tour with all counties leading up to the release of a final transportation plan later this year.

Del. Cheryl Pasteur, a Democrat who represents western and central Baltimore County, urged the state to continue pushing for the Red Line, saying, “If I want children to have doors and windows of opportunities open to them, they have to be able to get there.”

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. and others lamented the lack of support for county-specific projects like the Dolfield Interchange that would connect Interstate 795 and Dolfield Boulevard in Owings Mills. First floated in 2007, the state deferred funding the interchange in the latest cuts.

“I’m really at a loss of words as to why we haven’t collectively been able to find a way forward to get Dolfield done,” Olszewski said. “We’re the third largest jurisdiction. [It’s been a] top priority for almost 20 years. We have got to find a way to get it done again.”

In a project that crosses county and city lines, about $3.7 million in design funding for what is known as the North-South Corridor project was also deferred, further delaying another potential light rail or rapid bus transit route.

“Pulling back design funding basically says to us that those people who ride those buses, my constituents, don’t matter,” said Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos.

Del. Mark Edelson, who represents South Baltimore, pressed Wiedefeld on whether the cuts to other transportation maintenance projects — known as the “state of good repair” — would negatively impact Maryland’s application for federal funding for the Red Line because it will show that Maryland is unable to keep up with its current needs.

Wiedefeld said it would.

Edelson was ultimately one of seven House of Delegates members — half of the delegation representing Baltimore in Annapolis — who said the cuts mean the state needs more transportation funding.

That emphasis was the latest sign some lawmakers, when they begin the next legislative session in January, intend to pick up where they left off earlier this year. The House pushed for a host of changes to Maryland’s tax system to raise money for transportation and education in the 2024 session. Some ideas — like raising vehicle registration fees — were passed while others, like increasing tolls, creating new vehicle fees and taxing online gambling were stalled, partially because of resistance from Moore and the Senate. The General Assembly is controlled by Democrats.

Del. Robbyn Lewis, who has pushed for “creative solutions” like charging fees for owning physically larger vehicles, told the state transportation officials Monday that she “will do everything I can, even if it means getting in trouble, to raise the revenue that you need.”

“How are we going to raise the money to deliver what we promised to the people of the city and the region?” Lewis said. “We can not go home from the session in April unless we figure that out.”

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