State DOT takes 17 per cent

[Wes Leatherock]

With the thread about government funding,
grants and subsidies to various modes of transportation,
including renovation of railroad depots, this snippet
seems to add another dimension to how the money is used.

This is quoted from a story on the Gainesville, Texas,
newspaper Web site and posted to the RAILSPOT list. The
story deals with preparing the Gainesville Santa Fe depot
for the restoration of Amtrak service later this month.

Quoting from the story:

"While preservationists and the city have been
at odds sometimes since the city gained title to the
building in 1981, since June 4, 1986, the Council and
the Community Preservation Foundation have worked
together on issues of historical preservation.

"Together, the 2 entities have applied for, and
received, $710,000 in federal funds (the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act - or ISTEA) to
which the city only needed to provide about $177,000.
The catch on those funds were they had to be
administered by the Texas Department of Transportation,
which required about a 17 percent administration fee."

So it appears that at least in Texas the state DOT
takes 17 per cent off the top.

Wes Leatherock
wle...@sandbox.dynip.com