The Overton County Budget Committee moved to reallocate some $800,000 in debt service funds Thursday to address failing infrastructure.
Overton Highway Superintendent Tim Kennedy said if the department’s budget was not increased, some asphalt roads in Overton County would be forced to be converted back to gravel.
“We’ve got some roads in every district that needs paving bad,” Kennedy said. “And right now I’m choosing the roads that’s highly traveled, got the most houses on, you know that’s through roads and every district has got one or two of them roads that needs it bad right now needs to be resurfaced before we lose them.”
Budget Director Connie York said the Highway Department’s initial budget proposal was structurally unbalanced by $370,000, leaving a fund balance of only 7.7 percent. York said the state comptroller’s office viewed the low balance as unsustainable and required a corrective plan before the county’s overall budget could be approved.
“In order for the highway budget to be passed, if we could move $300,000 from our debt service fund number 151, we currently do not have any debt, no principal or interest payments from that account,” York said. “Currently we have about a $1.3 million balance but our June revenue investment income hasn’t hit yet. So I’m thinking that it’ll be around $1.5 (million) .”
The committee approved moving $300,000 directly into the highway fund to satisfy the state’s requirements and increase the department’s maintenance of effort. An additional $500,000 will be placed into a newly created capital projects fund specifically earmarked for asphalt.
Kennedy said the department is facing a 30 percent increase in asphalt costs, with bids rising from $60 to $75 per ton. Kennedy said that without the additional funding, the county would eventually be forced to convert paved roads back to gravel because it could no longer afford to maintain them.
“If we don’t get something done, every road in the county’s going to be gravel,” Kennedy said. “It’s just a hard truth. Asphalt increased 30 percent. Everything else went up not that much, not that drastic, but most everything went up at least 10 percent.”
York said the $500,000 transfer into the capital projects fund protects the county from a permanent increase in its maintenance of effort requirements. York said this approach allows the Highway Department to draw on the funds as needed over the next two years while the remaining balance continues to earn interest.
“I recommended a $1 million because there’s so many roads in bad shape and that’s over a two-year period that he would be paving with,” York said. “But that’s only because we have no real debt in place right now. And we’ve set up these other capital projects funds for vehicles and equipment that we didn’t have in the past, so those were the things that were non-operating but they were costly and we weren’t ready for them on a regular basis.”
Budget Committee member Patrick McCurdy said the county must prioritize the budget’s passage to provide breathing room, though he noted that future commissions will likely need to find a permanent revenue source for roads. Patrick said the cost of allowing roads to revert to gravel would be far higher for residents in the long run due to vehicle wear and tear.
“I lived on gravel roads for years and you know what? Between the suspension and the shocks and the engine mounts and the rattling doors and the dust and the broken wires, it’s going to cost a fortune if we go back to gravel,” McCurdy said.