Oregonians are not dumb. And this year, again, the Oregon Department of Transportation is saying that it will have to cut back on snowplowing and other road maintenance with its current expected revenue.

We raised a big stink about that last year on the editorial page. It was ridiculous. ODOT’s plan and the budget the Legislature provided was going to make Oregon roads less safe? Less garbage cleaned up along the road? Less striping of the lines on the road?

When we pressed ODOT for details about the plowing, it told us the stretch of U.S. Highway 97 between Bend and La Pine might get less plowing. That stretch can be tricky enough in the winter, so no thank you.

And, though we certainly can’t claim credit, Gov. Tina Kotek and legislators stepped in and found $19 million to ensure ODOT would have the money to do what it should be doing.

ODOT wasn’t making the money problems up. It does face a funding crunch with its main source being the gas tax, which will be less and less effective into the future. Inflation has been high. And the way ODOT’s money works, only about 20% of it can be used for maintenance.

“Oregonians can expect longer road closures, more trash and graffiti, worse winter driving conditions, more potholes, and slower DMV customer service because of this structural revenue issue,” ODOT says. “The decline in Oregon’s transportation system won’t be limited to state highways because counties and cities rely on the state highway fund for their maintenance services too. State, local, and neighborhood roads, sidewalks and bike lanes will all decline.”

ODOT is cooking up a “resource library” so Oregonians can better understand where its money comes from, where it goes and funding options for the future. It plans to provide the assumptions, methodology and data to explain it all. The idea is to give Oregonians all the tools they need to help them arrive at a future funding solution. It seems more than likely to be a fee Oregonians pay by the miles they drive instead of the gas they buy.

But ODOT needs to be careful about crying again that there won’t be money for snowplowing. Oregonians are not dumb.