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PHOENIX — A new report says Arizonans must find $288 billion over the next 25 years in additional funding to keep the state's roads, buses, bridges, schools, telecommunications systems and other infrastructure on pace with with population growth.

But because of the state budget's shortfall and the national economic crisis, don't hold your breath waiting for the report's recommendations to materialize into formal state proposals for action in the form of new or higher taxes or fees, or other revenue sources.

At a forum here Monday, authors of the report warned that the state is spending a far smaller percentage of its tax revenue on infrastructure now than it was in the 1970s and 1980s — less than 15 percent, compared with 20 percent to 25 percent in the 1960s through the '80s.

The authors, as well as other speakers, also warned that it will be difficult for the state to attract continued private economic investment or to compete with other states and countries economically without investing in public roads and other projects.

It would damage the state's quality of life to not have adequate public facilities as the state's population jumps from 6.4 million today to about 10 million in 2030, they said.

Arizona has the country's fastest-growing divide of any state between the highest and lowest income levels of its citizens, Arizona State University President Michael Crow said. Building these projects could help the state's position because they improve the state's economy for everyone, he and other proponents agreed.

"We, over the past 15 years, have not kept pace with growth in providing infrastructure, and clearly that is the case with transportation," said Tom Rex, one of the report's co-authors. Rex is associate director of Arizona State University's Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research. "We are also going to have to go back and start renovating the infrastructure that we have," he said. "That's not an inexpensive proposition.

"Arizona is the way it is today because of the federal government," Rex said. "But what they did in building the infrastructure in this state during much of the 20th century is not a priority for them anymore. The state will have to take over much of it itself."

But at a panel discussion on the new report after Rex spoke, the incoming state Senate president made it clear that he sees little chance that the Legislature will take any action on it until it takes care of its short-term budget-deficit problems. He estimated the current fiscal year's budget is $400 million to $500 million in the red so far, while the governor and legislators have predicted the state will have a final budget deficit of $1.2 billion.

"We have used up our cash reserves. We have very few tools left to solve a worsening problem at the state level," said state Sen. Bob Burns, a Peoria Republican who will become president next year from his current post as Senate Appropriations Committee chairman. "It is a critical function to do long-term planning, but when you are in a situation that we find ourselves in now, we have to solve this short-term problem. We cannot continue to let this deteriorate."

Having to get 31 votes in the House and 16 in the Senate to pass legislation is a tough way to manage when times are good, and "when you are in trouble, it just gets harder," Burns said.

Outgoing House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, D-Tucson, agreed with Burns that solving the short-term budget problems for this and the following fiscal years must be dealt with first. But he said that then legislators can and should take a look at the longer-term needs for roads, transit, schools and other capital projects.

"This is absolutely a reasonable idea," Lopes said of the report's conclusions. "I've heard of this before. What this does is that it puts it in a context. I'd be absolutely willing to move as fast as I can on it."

In talks during the morning-long session, panelists generally agreed that not only must new ways be found to pay for these projects, but that new models must be found to garner political and public support for them.

Various speakers agreed that the idea of public-private partnerships to pay for these projects is a good one. One idea that seemed popular was building toll roads, although Burns and other speakers acknowledged that it hasn't been well-received.

Additional impact fees on new homes also are a possibility, although Rex warned in an interview that growth can't totally pay for these projects because there is only so much money coming from development.

"For us to get more and more of the impact fees only makes sense. If you are going to move here and use our resources, you need to be willing to pay something upfront," Rex said of the fees, which builders say are usually passed on to their customers through higher prices. "But you can't rely on growth by itself. You'll always be behind."

He agreed that dealing with the budget deficit needs to come first before tackling long-term projects, but he said he was a little disappointed in Burns in particular because the legislator didn't seem to want to talk about anything but the need to resolve that deficit.

One thing making infrastructure issues difficult to tackle is that most of the projects are 20- to 30-year success stories, said panelist Shannon Scutari, Gov. Janet Napolitano's policy adviser for growth and infrastructure.

"How many of us will be in the work force when ribbons are cut on trains, freeways or solar-energy plants once they are finally producing energy or running? You are really putting yourself on the line, and most likely you won't be at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for them," she said.

As one potential model for trying to put together support for a big infrastructure plan, she and other speakers suggested a proposition that passed muster with Maricopa County voters in 2004 to extend a half-cent-per-dollar sales tax to build freeways and expand the Phoenix area's already-approved light-rail system — a system scheduled to start running in December. Public officials, business people, community activists and other leaders worked cooperatively and collectively to create this plan, Scutari and other speakers said.

ASU's Crow posed some of what he felt were key questions confronting the state's future concerning infrastructure. One is: Should various governmental bodies invest in a better quality of life together — "or is it everybody for themselves?"

On StarNet: We have a convenient, easy-to-use online resource to find information on growth and related issues. The database aggregates growth analysis, opinion and documents, including master plans for Southern Arizona's communities. Search the database at azstarnet. com/special/growthresources