Bennett County discusses secondary-road "opt out," commissioners agree to send measure to voters

Bennett County officials and residents spent a lengthy public meeting discussing whether to place a secondary-road opt-out on the ballot and how any new revenue would be used. Commissioners indicated they will send an opt-out proposition to voters; no final spending plan was adopted at the meeting.

The measure under discussion is the county’s secondary-road opt out, which commenters and county staff said would raise roughly $350,000 a year if approved by eligible voters outside incorporated city limits. County presenters showed a draft budget that projects roughly $3.3 million in revenues for the current year and about $4.3 million for the following year; opt-out revenue would begin to flow after a successful vote and would affect the county’s 2026 road season, not the current construction season.

Why it matters: Residents said many secondary roads have not seen substantial maintenance for years and urged clarity about which roads would get the new funds and precisely how the money would be spent. Commissioners and staff discussed trade-offs between a targeted secondary-road opt out — which state law requires be spent on secondary roads — and a general opt out that would add funds to the county’s general fund and could be budgeted to highways but would not legally be restricted to secondary roads.

Presenters and…