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Public Works presents 2026 budget: plans for pavement, bridges and staffing shortfalls
Summary
Public Works Director David Barnabless presented a proposed 2026 budget that calls for about 20 miles of asphalt overlay and 20 miles of chip seal, continued focus on bridge projects and a request for staff hires and consultant design capacity; no final budget action was taken.
David Barnabless, director of McPherson County Public Works, presented the department’s proposed 2026 budget and a multi‑year project overview to the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday.
Barnabless told commissioners the proposed budget totaled $7,000,920 (with a line showing $920,579 representing non‑salary items) and represents roughly a 1.9% increase over the approved 2025 budget; personnel services were up by about 5.7% largely because of step increases and vacancy assumptions. He said the department plans to asphalt and overlay approximately 20 miles and chip‑seal another 20 miles in 2026, and to pursue several bridge projects including applications for KDOT bridge grants.
Barnabless said the department remains short‑staffed and has advertised for engineers, a surveyor and engineering technicians. He described a hiring strategy that may rely on consultants to design larger bridge projects so the county can have shovel‑ready projects “on the shelf” for construction when funds become available. He also recommended a $100,000 overtime placeholder in the budget because overtime figures were not readily available in prior documents.
Operational points discussed by Barnabless included use and acquisition of asphalt millings and crushed concrete, coordination with KDOT on material sources, maintenance of county building grounds and facilities, and equipment rental versus purchase decisions. He said the county may need to reassess emphasis on road widening versus overlays and noted unplanned emergency projects (for example, Maxwell Game Preserve and a sinkhole repair) that required flexible responses in 2025.
Barnabless did not seek direct action on the budget at the meeting but asked for follow‑up discussion in future work sessions. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about specific projects (Fifth Avenue, County Road 319, 20 First Avenue through Galva) and cost line items (asphalt plant maintenance, fuel, rental equipment) and were told detailed project lists and cost estimates will be discussed in upcoming work sessions.
