Bankers Encourage Legislature to Fund TIME-21

As a representative of the banking industry, Glenwood State Bank President Larry Winum recently spoke in support of funding the Transportation Investment Moves the Economy in the 21st Century (TIME-21) act. Winum highlighted the importance of TIME-21 from an economic development perspective at a Feb. 20 press conference at the State Capitol in Des Moines.

“Not only is (funding TIME-21) important for the safety of the people using the roads, but it’s also important to maintain and enhance our economic development,” Winum said. “Bankers are obviously big players in the economic development environment in their communities, and roads are a big part of that. You can’t have good economic development without good roads.”

A study conducted by the Iowa Department of Transportation concluded that the minimum amount of new funding needed to maintain the existing road systems is $200 million per year, largely due to escalating construction and maintenance costs.

With Iowa’s public roads system facing a $27.7 billion funding shortfall over the next 20 years, the Iowa General Assembly passed TIME-21 during the 2007 legislative session. Gov. Chet Culver signed the bill into law in May 2007, and legislators are now faced with deciding how to fund the initiative.

Winum said bankers and fellow TIME-21 supporters are not taking a position on how to fund TIME-21, they are simply focusing on the importance of funding the bill and leaving the decisions to the Iowa Legislature.

“We’ve taken the position that it’s their job to find a way to work together and find a funding mechanism that can solve this $200 million per year problem and ultimately enhance economic development in the state,” Winum said.

Possible TIME-21 funding mechanisms include adding a sales tax on fuel costs, which Gov. Culver has declared he would not support this year. Other funding mechanisms include increasing vehicle registration fees, increasing the tax on motor vehicles and/or increasing the state driver’s license fee.

The need to fund TIME-21 was reinforced by a new report released Feb. 20 that ranked Iowa’s bridges fourth most deficient in the U.S. The study showed that more than one-fifth of the state’s bridges are in need of immediate repair or replacement. The study was conducted by TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group based in Washington, D.C.

The Iowa Bankers Association supports funding TIME-21 and allotting more resources for Iowa’s transportation system to support and enhance economic development within the state.

Visit www.iowabankers.com/time21.htm for a current list of TIME-21 forums taking place across the state.

Larry Winum, president of Glenwood State Bank in Glenwood, spoke in support of TIME-21 at a Feb. 20 press conference at the State Capitol. Winum said good roads are necessary to maintain and enhance economic development in the state of Iowa.