MARVIN OLDS

WATERLOO --- Just because the Iowa Department of Transportation says it needs $200 million to shore up its infrastructure, does not necessarily mean it is so. Has this request been verified by anyone other than the DOT itself? Have you ever heard of any tax supported agency say that they are getting enough money from the taxpayers of Iowa? You never will.

Every agency spends every penny they are allotted because if they don't, their budget will be cut and no head of a tax-supported agency wants that. At the end of their fiscal year, these agencies will always have some project that was not funded but that is considered of utmost importance to them and to the city or state government.

The Iowa DOT is the case in point. They say they need this additional money to mainly inspect and replace bridges in Iowa because of the horrific bridge collapse in Minneapolis last year. Just last month, information has been released that the cause of this collapse was not deterioration but a design flaw in the way the bridge was engineered. None of the bridges in Iowa have been constructed in this manner, so why does the DOT still say they need so much additional tax money to spend on inspections that don't need to be done?

I urge the Iowa legislature to scrutinize any request for an increase in the budget of any tax-supported agency that come before them this session. I have just so much income and have to live within a budget and these agencies should have to live within theirs.

 More Stories from Opinions » Letters To Editor

DOT request questioned
Chance to honor vets
Wrong on Romney

Place Classified Ad
In print and online, 24/7