Groves workshop weighs dedicated transportation fee as streets funding shortfall grows

Groves City Council held a workshop March 26 to review the condition of city streets and explore options for paying to repair and maintain them, including a monthly transportation utility fee. No formal decision was taken; staff and a consultant described steps needed to study and implement such a fee, and several residents urged clear transparency, exemptions for seniors and accountability on how revenues would be spent.

The proposal matters because city staff said existing funding is insufficient. "The streets fund has a $1,470,000 budgeted for the fiscal year 2024–25," Public Works Director Troy Foxworth told the council, while also noting the city maintains roughly 74–75 miles of roadway across about 82 streets. Foxworth and consultant Matthew Garrett of NewGen Strategies and Solutions said the dollar gap is large: a 2017 pavement assessment that estimated $3.36 million to improve 10 percent of the network would now cost roughly $5.7 million, Garrett said, citing current price levels.

Council-level context: the workshop was presented as an informational session rather than a decision meeting. Foxworth reviewed the city’s recent street program, equipment limits and how past practice has combined in-house base work, county interlocal assistance and outside contractors for hot-mix asphalt. He said aging equipment and fewer staff with street-construction experience mean Groves will likely need to rely more on contractors for full rebuilds. "We—ve used grants…