Don't be too quick to ax MPOs

Gazette Editorial Board

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Quick, now: What is a Metropolitan Planning Organization and what does an MPO do?

Most of us probably don't know or have a vague idea at best. Like many government agencies, MPO isn't exactly a household term.

More important, if Congress decides to eliminate most MPOs - including six of the seven in Iowa - would the public notice? Not for a while, perhaps. But we fear the long-term effects would be negative.

MPOs date to 1962, when Congress mandated them for areas larger than 50,000 people. MPOs handle planning, programming and coordination of transportation projects involving federal highway and transit funds.

MP0s are governed by representatives from each participating local government. The federal government pays part of the administrative costs; each local entity is also assessed annual dues, based on population. Total dues for the Corridor MPO is about $70,000; for MPO of Johnson County, under $40,000.

Back to Congress. The Senate Transportation Committee has approved a new transportation funding bill. One section calls for eliminating two-thirds of the 385 MPOs nationwide - those serving smaller metro areas such as the Corridor MPO (Cedar Rapids, Linn County and its other communities) and MPO of Johnson County. Only the Des Moines Area MPO likely would survive this proposal if approved by Congress.

Some opponents of the legislation fear that smaller metro areas would lose some or all of their clout in attracting federal transportation funds. Maybe. But funding cuts are coming anyway.

We think the biggest potential setback would be loss of local power to determine what projects are of most benefit to the metro area. That duty would be left up to state transportation officials.

MPOs are important because nearly 75 percent of Americans live in metro areas. Metro areas drive our economy. Transportation infrastructure - highways, bridges, airports, transit systems, rail - is critical to powering the economic engine that affects every community in an MPO.

Certainly that's true in Iowa, where the Des Moines and Corridor MPOs include the state's largest concentrations of industry and business, with some sectors among the world's foremost. Eliminating MPOs from the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City metro areas seems like a shortsighted decision. Iowa's other four metro areas might make the same case.

We urge our congressional delegation to scrutinize the MPO legislation. Verify what savings it would bring, and whether it's enough to justify long-term loss of local control and planning. Don't be quick to eliminate this little-known, yet important agency that helps steer our region's future.

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