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| Thursday, September 2, 2010 |
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Lack of funds causes paving dilemma
Published March 10, 2010
Reduced tax revenues used for funding the county's public works department will affect how many roads are repaired during the annual paving season this year.
Jackson County Commissioners met with interim County Engineer Charity Manning to discuss road paving projects during a Monday afternoon work session. The commission decided, after hearing reports from Manning and County Administrator Sandra Erickson, to decide what roads need immediate attention, while agreeing to work on the others as funds become available.
Manning gave commissioners a list of 20 roads —11 from District 1, four from District 2, four from District 3 and one from District 4 — that need work.
Manning said some of the projects would not pave the entire length or width of the road. Of the 26.3 miles of roadways listed on the sheet, 8.6 of the 26.3 miles are to be paved in their entirety.
The cost for materials to pave one mile of roadway is approximately $16,000, Manning said. Labor adds another $4,000 per mile, bringing the total to $20,000 per mile.
Commissioner Horace Clemmons estimated at Monday's work session it would cost approximately $526,000 to complete paving as needed in 2010. The expected cost to pave the 8.6 miles is $172,000.
"The problem is we don't have money to fix them all," Erickson said.
Erickson said there is now a negative balance of funds from the 7-cent tax, which is the main operating budget for the public works department. She said the county has brought in $878,727 from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31 and spent $1,023,924 in that same period, leaving a $145,197 deficit.
She said she also pulled fiscal year 2008 figures on the gas tax revenues, which are currently down $40,000 from levels two years ago.
Erickson told commissioners she agreed with Manning's recommendation to decide what roads are critical and should be taken care of first, then look at the other roads on a month to month basis as funds become available.
Public works will have some federal road projects, which will be paid from Resurfacing, Restoration and Rehabilitation funds. Work on County Roads 88 and 21 will be federal projects.
Manning said for County Road 88, the county must match federal appropriations with RRR funds. She estimated the cost would be between $60,000 and $90,000.
The county has received $20,000 from the Jackson County Legislative Delegation for work needed on County Road 271 in Bridgeport.
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