Presentation for Road Fund Budget 2023

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COUNTY ' •A1 FUND 106 2023 County Road Budget The Road Fund provides the financial resources needed to manage, develop, and maintain county roads and bridges. It takes over 45 qualified people and a $19.6-million-dollar budget to provide the basic public works services county residents and visitors expect of our rural county. We employ specialists to get the job done including engineers, technicians, surveyors, draftsmen, heavy equipment operators, flaggers, mechanics, floodplain experts, traffic technicians, managers, accountants, planners, office assistants, and map specialists. Delivering consistent levels of service in a constantly changing world is a big challenge. Populations grow, service needs increase, technologies advance, and regulations change. Road and bridge infrastructure wears out and the cost to maintain or repair it keeps rising due to increasing costs for gasoline, oil, diesel fuel and construction materials. Grant Opportunities and How they affect the Road fund. In applying for grant funds to repair our roads and bridges, most grants require matching local funds. With several of our roads and bridges failing, the hope is that matching funds will be available for the county to secure grant funding. An example: a road repair costing one million dollars could get grant funding at 86.5% or $865,000; the county would need to guarantee that it can pay the remaining $135,000. County road funds need to be available to secure grant funding. Because we have been so successful in securing grant funding as well as in following through with our construction projects, the county road fund is quickly diminishing, and is threatened to not be at sufficient levels to secure future grant funding soon. Road maintenance is required daily to repair damage and keep roads functional. Road maintenance includes everything from filling potholes and re-striping, to repairing signs and trimming roadside vegetation. Additionally, crews must be available for needs such as snow and ice control, flood damage repair, and cleaning drainage pipes. Public Works utilizes a work order system to respond efficiently to citizen requests for maintenance on our county roads. Road preservation is the process of restoring a roadway when it begins to wear out. Even with daily maintenance, all roads eventually need chip sealing or paving, and aging bridges, walls, pipes, guardrail, and signs need replacement. Road improvements are necessary when a road must be upgraded to keep up with demand or to improve its function. Improvements may increase safety, improve durability, ease congestion, or add features such as sidewalks for pedestrians. No job is finished ... until the paperwork is done. To keep everything moving, a department administration team coordinates all county road work activities through management, administration, planning, budgeting, and record keeping.