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What you need to know about the revised Missouri budget proposal

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The Missouri Legislature will have a big job now that lawmakers are back to work – dealing with a projected state budget shortfall of about $700 million. Members have been on break for about one month due to the coronavirus threatening the state.

The Missouri House and Senate convene on January 9, 2019 for a joint session to commemorate the 100th General Assembly (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House of Representatives is considering a revised state budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. The $34.9 billion budget outline is about a $4.5 billion increase over Gov. Mike Parson’s original fiscal plan released in January. It includes $10 billion in state general revenue, $14.5 billion in federal funding and $10.3 billion in other funds.

The blueprint includes two major differences from what Gov. Parson recommended in January. The latest version no longer includes a 2% pay raise that Parson recommended for most state workers and MoHealthnet is planning to use a savings plan in which the state moves to an outpatient fee schedule that is tied to Medicare. According to Chris Dunn with Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith’s office, upwards of $90 million would be saved in hospital and managed care reimbursements.

The revised budget plan includes about $10.4 billion to the Missouri Department of Social Services. Most of the Social Services budget goes to Medicaid costs.

About $3.5 billion in base funding would go to Missouri’s K-12 public schools – the same amount as in the current year’s budget. As for school bus transportation, $100 million is being proposed – a reduction of about $7 million compared to the current budget year.

Missouri Senate

About $1.5 billion would go to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development – a roughly $200 million increase over the current year. The figure includes both the general revenue cuts that Representative Smith proposed and an increase of federal authority should federal funds be made available to support the state’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Under the plan, they would get a 10% reduction in funding compared to the current year.

The Department of Corrections budget proposal would be about $805 million – a $24 million increase over the current year. About $38.5 million would go to reimbursing county jails for transporting inmates and holding offenders who end up going to state prison – the same amount as the current year’s budget.

The Missouri Department of Transportation would get about $3 billion, compared to $2.93 billion in the current year’s budget.

Under the House plan, there would be some shuffling of the size of the state’s workforce. Missouri would have 53,935 state workers, a net increase of three full-time equivalent state employees.

Full-time equivalent, or FTE, refers to the number of hours worked by a single employee in a week. FTE is used to convert the hours worked by part-time employees into those worked by full-time staff.

The largest staff increase is 197.5 FTEs the governor requested to be added in the Department of Public Safety to help with the pandemic. The largest reduction would be 128 FTE workers in the Department of Corrections. As the offender population has declined, the agency plans to consolidate certain housing units so that some housing units can be closed. This is allowing the department to reduce vacant FTE positions.

The Missouri House is debating the budget bills and final approval is expected today. Then the Missouri Senate will go from there. Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the Senate Appropriations Committee is planning to take up the budget on Saturday and work through the weekend.

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(VIDEO) Top takes from today’s COVID-19 briefing in Missouri

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Gov. Mike Parson is freezing another $47 million in the current state budget to help Missouri fight the coronavirus. The largest chunks of funding being withheld are nearly $16 million to K-12 education and $7.1 million in school bus transportation costs. During today’s virtual briefing, Parson says the restrictions will be felt by seven other state agencies, the Attorney General’s Office and the Legislature.

Gov. Mike Parson (Photo courtesy of governor’s Flickr page)

“COVID-19 is unlike anything we have ever dealt with before, and like many families during this time, we are having to make adjustments and cut back on our state expenditures,” says Parson. “These are not easy decisions, but this is the right thing to do to ensure our budget is balanced and that we are financially prepared to deal with the impacts of COVID-19 going forward.”

To view the full list of funding restrictions, click here.

On April 1, Parson announced $180 million in budget withholds – more than $81 million was to the Missouri Department of Higher Education. Other agencies affected were the Missouri Office of Administration, Transportation, Economic Development and Natural Resources.

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten (Photo courtesy of governor’s Flickr page)

Meanwhile, a vendor has given a refund to the state for an order of protective masks that did not fit correctly. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Missouri paid $9 million in advance to NMS LLC of St. Louis to secure 3.9 million masks. Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten says discussions determined that the vendor remains committed to helping Missouri get more protective equipment to fight the coronavirus.

“During those talks, it became clear the vendor was no opposed to and never was opposed to refunding the state the deposit paid for the order,” says Karsten.

Karsten says the agreement resolves all refund issues with vendors used to get personal protective gear. She says the state will no longer be buying KN95 respirator masks.

More than 5,800 people have tested positive in Missouri for the coronavirus and 177 people have died as a result of the respiratory disease.

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Missouri traffic fatalities up in 2020, despite large drop in traffic due to COVID-19 (AUDIO)

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While passenger traffic in Missouri has plummeted due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Missouri state troopers say there’s been a three percent increase in traffic fatalities for the year.

A Missouri state trooper’s radar clocks a motorist driving 93 miles-per-hour in northern Missouri’s Troop B in March 2020 (photo courtesy of Missouri State Highway Patrol headquarters)

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz says passenger traffic is down 47 percent statewide since March 13. Captain Hotz and the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) say passenger traffic in both the Kansas City and St. Louis areas is down 49 percent in the past month.

Click below to see the Highway Patrol report.

Traffic Changes due to COVID-19

“It is alarming when you see the significant reduction in traffic and yet we’re still having the same number of fatal crashes, or even a little bit more than what had we had last year,” Hotz says.

There have been 174 traffic fatalities statewide in 2020, compared to 168 at this time last year.

You’ll notice additional Missouri state troopers on the road, increasing enforcement to stop the rising number of traffic fatalities. Hotz says motorists driving 90-miles-per-hour is “unfortunately becoming commonplace.”

“Now we (the Highway Patrol) are practicing social distancing just like everyone else, but in the end we have a job to do,” says Hotz. “And if we have people that are out there endangering themselves or others, we’re going to take enforcement action on that.”

And he warns motorists that increasing speeds increases the likelihood of serious injuries or death.

“We know the faster that you’re going when you have a traffic crash, the more severe that crash is going to be. There’s just no way around it, we can’t cheat the laws of physics,” Hotz says.

Captain Hotz tells Missourinet that three MoDOT trucks have been struck by motorists in the past week, despite the falling traffic volumes.

There were 879 traffic fatalities in Missouri in 2019.

Click here to listen to the full five-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz, which was recorded on April 2, 2020:

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Highlights from today’s press briefing about COVID-19 in Missouri

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At least 502 people in Missouri have tested positive for the coronavirus, compared to yesterday’s count of 356. The latest state data shows the age range with the most cases is 50 to 59-year-olds. They have 114, compared to the next leading age group of 20 to 29-year-olds having 88 cases.

During a press conference today, State Health Director Randall Williams says Missouri continues to make changes to better monitor the outbreak.

“We do track negatives. We changed our regulations so that we know we that we have done more than 6,000 tests here in Missouri,” says Williams.

Missouri is currently only testing nursing home and assisted living center residents who show signs of the respiratory disease. Gov. Mike Parson says he would be willing to get everyone in the facilities tested if that was possible.

“As much as I would like to help everyone that could be able to be tested today that wants to be tested, the reality of it is we don’t have the tests,” says Parson. “They don’t have it nationally. So, we have to prioritize who we are going to test and who we are not.”

Parson says priority goes to those out on the front lines, especially healthcare workers, first responders and those with symptoms of the virus.

Missouri has relaxed some requirements to make it easier for truck drivers to deliver essential goods during the coronavirus outbreak. State Transportation Department Director Patrick McKenna says the agency will continue to look for ways to ease the challenges facing its transportation partners during this critical time.

“We’ve relaxed the hours of operation for motor carriers, to give them more flexibility for transporting goods,” says McKenna. “We’ve eased restrictions to allow for heavier than normal truckloads of emergency supplies and equipment to travel on all Missouri highways, including interstates.”

To ensure the continued transportation of essential supplies, equipment, and individuals, the Missouri Department of Revenue has also issued the following extensions in coordination with MoDOT:

• Sixty-day extension of driving privileges: This extension applies to individuals with CDL or non-CDL license expiration dates of March 1, 2020, through April 30, 2020. For example, an individual with a CDL expiring March 1, 2020, will have until May 1, 2020, to complete the required license renewal in their local license office.

• Extension of CDL medical certificates: This extension applies to individuals holding a CDL or CLP with a current medical certificate that has been issued for a period of 90 days or more and has an expiration date of March 1, 2020, through April 30, 2020. These individuals have been granted an extension of their medical certification until June 30, 2020. This relief will give Missouri’s commercial drivers additional time to complete the required medical exam and to submit an updated medical certificate to their local license office so their Missouri driver record can be updated.

• Both of these extensions have been applied automatically, so no additional action is required by eligible drivers to qualify.

McKenna says rest areas around the state are also being cleaned and disinfected on a more frequent basis.

Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) Director Mark Stringer says the agency serves people of all ages with mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Department helps about 170,000 people a year through both institutions and community programs.

To ensure the department’s services continue with as little disruption as possible, it has worked with partners across state government to make it possible for community providers to do much of their work by telephone, rather than the traditional face-to-face requirement. Service providers have also dramatically increased their use of telehealth, and the agency is exploring ways to stay in touch with people who cannot afford cell phones or extra minutes.

For psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation centers, DMH has worked with other state departments to share best practices, policies, and procedures during times of crisis. Public visitation is temporarily suspended at all DMH facilities and offices statewide.

Stringer says the Federal Disaster Distress Help Line was created for times like the current coronavirus outbreak. Stringer encouraged citizens struggling to cope with the health crisis to contact the 24/7 hotline.

“It is staffed with mental health professionals who can talk with you and if you need more help than they can provide, they can connect you with services here in Missouri,” says Stringer. “Specially, they can connect you with our Access Crisis Intervention System or ACI.”

Stringer says the ACI, which is free and confidential, is staffed with professionals linked to state certified mental health and substance misuse services.

Click here for the Federal Disaster Distress Help Line. Click here for the Access Crisis Intervention System.

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UPDATE: Westbound I-70 in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport closed for six hours (AUDIO)

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UPDATE: The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says westbound I-70 on the Rocheport bridge in mid-Missouri has re-opened, after being closed for almost six hours. MoDOT’s Central District is warning that overnight refreezing is likely on bridges and elevated roadways. The agency will be bringing in additional crews, during the overnight hours. Motorists are urged to slow down.

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL STORY:

State transportation officials say westbound I-70 is completely closed at the heavily-traveled Rocheport bridge in mid-Missouri, due to numerous snow-related crashes. Multiple tractor trailers are involved in the crash, which happened at about 12:15 p.m.

Missouri state troopers say multiple tractor trailers are involved in crashes on the westbound I-70 bridge in central Missouri’s Rocheport (February 5, 2020 photo courtesy of Troop F Twitter page)

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) spokesman Adam Pulley tells Missourinet they hope to re-open westbound I-70 by 4 p.m. this (Wednesday) afternoon. Tow trucks have arrived in a tight area on the bridge.

Missouri state troopers say there’s one injury, and that there is a lot of debris from the crashes.

MoDOT says more than 12-million vehicles cross the I-70 Rocheport bridge annually, including three million trucks.

Rocheport is just west of Columbia.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued multiple winter storm warnings across Missouri today, including for mid-Missouri and southwest Missouri. NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Jimmy Barham warns roads are deteriorating east of the Kansas City metro. He says that could impact Chiefs fans attending today’s Super Bowl parade and rally, which is happening at Union Station in Kansas City.

“People who are leaving the parade heading towards the south or to the east, be aware that you are going to be moving into more hazardous conditions than you think you are,” Barham says.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect for central and southwest Missouri, until Thursday morning.

Missourinet’s Ashley Byrd reports visibility, at times, was only a quarter-of-a-mile today in Columbia. The Jefferson City/Columbia areas are expected to see about five inches of snow. The NWS Springfield office says Joplin and the Stockton Lake areas could see up to six inches.

The NWS is also warning about deteriorating conditions in the St. Louis region, with a snow/sleet mix.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Jimmy Barham, which was recorded on February 5, 2020:

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MoDOT uses technology to help with winter weather efficiencies

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The Missouri Transportation Department’s trucks are treating roads this winter with some extra help from technology. MoDOT Assistant Maintenance Engineer Paul Denkler tells Missourinet it is using a GPS tracking system and is testing an extra feature that makes its operations more efficient.

Illustration courtesy of MoDOT

“The winter operations add-on allows us to better monitor the material being spread, what application rate it’s being spread at, how many times we have traveled over a certain route,” he says.

Denkler says the add-on has paid off in other states.

“There are several states that have this already in place,” he tells Missourinet. “States using this are seeing a return on investment of 20 to 1 when they incorporate the winter operations.”

The department uses the technology on about 1200 trucks in the southwest, central and St. Louis districts.

According to Denkler, the system also gives MoDOT early alerts when trucks are having engine problems and other maintenance issues, which also help to save money.

The illustration in this story shows a snapshot of a trip history for a MoDOT truck. It shows three trips the truck took and each trip shows where the truck was during that time period, how fast it was moving, the speed limit of the road it’s on and if any rule criteria were broken, such as harsh braking, harsh cornering, speeding or idling too long.

The system, called Geotab, also shows if there were any engine warnings. These alerts would show up on the map as a triangle with an exclamation point inside it. A triangle at the end of trip 1 is an alert of the truck idling past the time set for that rule criteria.

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Winter storm expected to impact Chiefs parade and much of Missouri (AUDIO)

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The National Weather Service (NWS) says most of Missouri is currently under a winter weather advisory, and will see two waves of winter weather by Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill says the heaviest snowfall will be between the I-44 corridor and the Highway 36 corridor in north Missouri (February 4, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

NWS Kansas City meteorologist Jimmy Barham says most of the snow will be between the I-44 corridor up to the Highway 36 corridor in northern Missouri.

“The more significant snowstorm looks like it’s going to push in as we get into the morning hours tomorrow, especially down towards Springfield,” Barham says. “We’re going to see snow totals even by the afternoon up into the one to three inch range.”

He says winter storm watches and winter storm warnings will likely be issued.

Western Missouri’s Kansas City, Warrensburg and Sedalia are currently receiving snow now, after seeing freezing drizzle earlier.

The second wave will have the heaviest impact on mid-Missouri’s Columbia, Jefferson City and Lake of the Ozarks, which could receive up to six inches of snow.

Mr. Barham tells Missourinet the snow will likely impact Chiefs fans at Wednesday’s Super Bowl parade and rally in downtown Kansas City.

“Going into the parade might not be too bad, but coming out of the parade you’re probably going to have hazardous travel conditions,” says Barham. “Especially if you’re going east past Sedalia into the Columbia towards St. Louis area.”

Wednesday morning’s parade begins at 11:30, and the victory rally is set for 1:30 p.m. at Union Station. The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is expecting “hundreds of thousands” of fans to attend.

Barham emphasizes that Wednesday’s second wave, which is coming from Oklahoma, will be stronger.

The latest NWS models also show a heavy band near I-70 on Wednesday, between Kingdom City and Montgomery County. That area could see up to eight inches of snow.

Southwest Missouri’s Springfield, Joplin and Nevada should see four to six inches of snow, by early Thursday. Northeast Missouri’s Hannibal and Bowling Green could also see up to six inches.

Far southeast Missouri is the only area that’s not expected to see snow.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Jimmy Barham, which was recorded on February 4, 2020:

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MoDOT head calls agency’s turnover rate ‘a crisis’

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Missouri Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna says MoDOT is experiencing a historic 13% annual turnover rate. During a Missouri House subcommittee budget hearing Wednesday, McKenna says he expects well over 700 employees could leave during the current fiscal year.

MODOT Director Patrick McKenna

“We do consider that a crisis because we need skilled and trained people and professionals to be out providing the services throughout,” says McKenna. “We recognize that we’re not alone in state government with this and in fact, sometimes when you look at the numbers of the Department of Transportation relative to other agencies, you might think we don’t have a problem.”

According to MoDOT, employee turnover could potentially reach 15% in FY20 based on over 190 employees leaving MoDOT in the first quarter of FY20.

McKenna says the turnover rate is generational, but indicates pay is also part of the problem.

“Kansas City – we have a turnover of nearly 200 professionals a year going on,” says McKenna. “In St. Louis – over 150. That’s an extraordinary load.”

In FY17, 554 workers left the department through termination, retirement or voluntarily. The following year, the agency had 611 employees depart. In FY19,
679 workers did.

“Just the challenge of replacing those folks and getting them trained and ready to go is extraordinary,” says McKenna. “But we also calculate the cost of that turnover to the taxpayers – both the hard and soft costs, as well as leave payouts. It well exceeds 30 million dollars a year.”

MoDOT estimates that overall turnover cost the Department $36.9 million in FY19 stemming from $2.1 million in hard costs (e.g., employee labor to fill the job, and related costs such as advertising, drug testing, background checks, and physicals); $2.2 million from leave payouts following all separations; and $32.6 million in soft costs (e.g. loss of productivity, onboarding, rework, retraining, and distraction of supervisor and co-workers).

In FY19, MoDOT filled 895 maintenance positions and 541 non-maintenance positions. At this time, MoDOT employs 718 Maintenance Workers (average salary of $31,742), 270 Intermediate Maintenance Workers (average salary of $34,017), 1069 Senior Maintenance Workers (average salary of $37,693), 418 Maintenance Crew Leaders (average salary of $40,967), 69 Assistant Maintenance Supervisors (average salary of $45,084), 170 Maintenance Supervisors (average salary of $50,059). These six positions account for over 50 percent of our total salaried workforce.

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MoDOT activates full response for winter storm

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Missouri Transportation Department crews will be out in full force today statewide to battle road conditions from a winter storm system. Todd Miller with MoDOT says plow drivers have been preparing for bad weather and will be working hard during the winter front.

A Missouri Department of Transportation snow plow (2018 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)

“We have over 1,500 plow trucks and we have almost 3,400 operators to operate those plow trucks. We can operate them in 12 hours shifts for a 24 hour response to this event,” he says.

Miller says the weather event will be challenging for road crews and drivers need to travel very carefully.

“It is going to switch from snow to freezing rain. Some chemicals we have down may not last,” he says. “You can’t be everywhere at once. We have 77,000 lane miles of roads that we take care of.”

The system is expected to move from southwest to northeast Missouri, bringing snow and ice to northern, west-central, western and southwest Missouri.

Check out MoDOT’s traveler information map for the latest road conditions.

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Major winter storm to bring ice, sleet, snow and freezing rain to Missouri (AUDIO)

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At least 30 school districts across northern Missouri dismissed classes early Friday afternoon, to get students home before roads deteriorate during a major winter storm.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill has updated the timing of the winter storm that will impact much of Missouri (January 10, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Twitter)

The National Weather Service (NWS) says freezing rain has started in northwest Missouri, part of a winter storm system that will impact much of the state this weekend. State transportation officials say roads in northwest Missouri are already covered or partially covered in snow or ice.

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Scott Blair says the complicated system is bringing a combination of sleet and snow to far northwest Missouri.

“What we have ongoing right now is some freezing rain and that is going to cause quite a lot of problems as we continue on in the afternoon hours through those evening hour time frames,” Blair says.

Maryville and Bethany are expected to see five to eight inches of snow.

Mr. Blair says a line stretching from Kansas City to Chillicothe to Kirksville should see rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow.

“And as that colder air arrives after sunset we will start seeing that potential for both freezing rain and then eventually sleet to move into the area,” says Blair.

Four to six inches of snow are expected in Chillicothe and St. Joseph. Cities like Columbia and Moberly could see up to a quarter-of-an-inch of ice. Jefferson City could see some ice as well.

The NWS and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) are also warning you to be on the alert for refreezing of roads Saturday night into Sunday morning, across central, northern and western Missouri. Blair urges you to be cautious.

“The key point takeaway is don’t worry so much about the exact amount of snow forecast,” Blair says. “Just remember that this is going to be a combination of both a glaze of ice, followed by snow on top of that.”

Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) reports more than 25 schools in northwest and north-central Missouri are dismissing early today. They include the St. Joseph, Gallatin and Princeton School Districts. Our Moberly affiliate KWIX (AM 1230) reports four districts have dismissed early in their listening area, including the Green City and Milan School Districts.

The NWS says a flash flood watch is in effect for southern and central Missouri, including Columbia and Springfield.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Blair, which was recorded on January 10, 2020:

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