Council committee backs $1 million to keep county road plan on track; second million deferred pending revenue clarity

Jason, representing the highway department, and the council’s highway committee reported on April 14 that the county’s 2025 road-improvement plan will need roughly an additional $1,000,000 beyond the highway department’s current budget to maintain the planned schedule.

Jason and committee members said the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) lowered the county’s highway budget request, leaving an approximate $1 million shortfall to stay on the adopted multi-year road improvement plan. Committee members described the additional $1 million as necessary to continue planned work; they recommended the council provide that amount. "To stay on plans can cost an approximate another million dollars," a committee member said.

Committee members discussed a second potential $1,000,000 appropriation but did not recommend it at this time. Reasons included an ongoing lawsuit, uncertainty from state legislation (including potential changes tied to SB1 and Community Crossings funding) and other county demands. One committee member said: "We're in the middle of a lawsuit. I don't know when that's gonna go....it's just too much in looking at not knowing the impact of SB1 downstate." The committee recommended proceeding with the first $1,000,000 and re-evaluating the second tranche after revenue clarity — possibly by July or August.

Jason provided examples of candidate projects and cost estimates for planning: King Road (Lincoln Way to U.S. 30) estimated at about $227,000; "mill and fill" projects and milling contracts were discussed as projects that would be subcontracted because the county lacks milling machines. On capacity, Jason said a $1,000,000 appropriation for reconstruction-level work (at roughly $250,000–$300,000 per project) and a mix of chip-and-seal and other maintenance could deliver an estimate of roughly 45 miles of work in a year, but that figure depends on project type and materials.

Committee members and staff also discussed Community Crossings grants and potential eligibility changes tied to wheel-tax adoption: "It looked like the grant portion, yes, but there's gonna be some additional monies based on lanes. And if you don't have a wheel tax, you're not going to be able to get that additional funds based on lane miles," a committee member said. Council members asked staff to prepare appropriation requests: Jason was advised to submit a specific appropriation request for the May meeting for in-house work; if not ready for May the request could move to the June meeting.

The highway committee recommended the council approve an additional $1,000,000 to keep the road plan on track and to defer a second $1,000,000 until revenue impacts and legislative changes are clearer. No formal council appropriation was adopted on April 14; the committee expects to return with a formal, itemized appropriation request for council action in the next month or two.