Adopt-A-Highway program to endure cuts, layoffs as state seeks to trim budget
Major spending cuts are imminent for the Adopt-A-Highway program in Bakersfield, resulting in slashed hours and layoffs that could take effect as early as today.
The program, funded by California’s Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, is operated by The Open Door Network, a local nonprofit focused on rehabilitation of the local underserved and homeless.
Lauren Skidmore, CEO of The Open Door Network, said more than a third of the program’s budget is to be axed, from $807,000 to $500,000. These constraints will carry over from their current contract onto the next, which ends June 2025, she added.
About 30 employees have already or will soon see their hours cut, from an average of 60 hours to 36 hours biweekly. Up to 20 crew members will be laid off.
“We cannot sustain further for the remainder of this contract year to have all of those employees,” Skidmore said, adding that performance and seniority will be weighed when determining who is let go.
Many more are expected to quit under the weakened program — the longest-standing contract under the nonprofit’s workforce development program. A statewide program that in 2022 touted $250 a month incentives will now see some workers earning $390 on a biweekly paycheck.
“We do have individuals who are going to need to seek other employment because they can’t sustain their family on these low income levels,” Skidmore said.
This is a massive hit to the program, she said, which employs the previously incarcerated or homeless, who for minimum wage pick up litter along freeways and highways. Thousands of miles of roadway shoulders are cleaned under the program each year, and save Californians $19 million annually, according to Caltrans.
It’s also one of the few entry points the network offers, whereby locals can develop job skills and earn income while receiving case management on
their slow, difficult transition back into the workforce. It’s a popular program among Open Door’s clients: there are zero vacancies with the network’s partnered workforce, with another 200 people remaining on the waitlist.
Cuts to the Adopt-A-Highway Program are one of the first casualties Skidmore said is expected to be seen statewide, as California seeks to sidestep a $37.9 billion deficit.
California Democratic leaders announced a plan April 4 to shave $17.3 billion off their staggering deficit through a series of spending cuts, delays and deferrals. In response to the plan, Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, said April 4 it postpones “this crisis into the future.”
The Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts the expected losses in the state’s gasoline and ethanol excise taxes will amount to a $4.4 billion drop in Caltrans’ coffers over the next 10 years, as regulations continue to phase out gas-powered cars and trucks.
At the Bakersfield City Council meeting Wednesday, Ward 2 Councilman Andrae Gonzales spoke on the matter, asking city staff to come back with a plan to supplement the lost state funding.
“It really breaks my heart to think that they would have to lay off a lot of these men and women who are really looking for a hand up to improve their lives,” Gonzales said. “They want to work and advance their careers and it starts with a job.”
The money, he said, could come from the several million dollars the city received through the American Rescue Plan Act.
While nearly all the money has already been earmarked for use elsewhere, Gonzales was confident that through some fiscal pruning, there will be enough money to fill in the gap.
“Given the nature of each program and how far they’ve actually advanced, some of our initiatives have not utilized all of the funds in each allocation,” Gonzales said. “There will be enough money.”