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Residents press Bennett County commissioners over $28,000 February road‑grading bill and overall highway spending
Summary
Public commenters asked commissioners for details about a February $28,000 road‑grading invoice and raised broader concerns about highway spending, contract oversight and the county's budget trajectory; commissioners agreed to follow up with mileage, invoices and reporting.
During public comment, residents pressed Bennett County commissioners for details about winter road‑grading invoices and broader highway spending after claims showed significant early‑year expenditures.
A public commenter said he reviewed county invoices and found Josh Whipple Road Trucking billed roughly $28,000 for work in February and asked how many miles that covered. The speaker told the board the company’s February invoice “was for the total of $28,000 that covered that entire 70–80% of the county” and questioned whether the work was inspected and approved before payment.
The commenter cited county claim totals of $54,007.94 in January and $48,007.54 in February—for a two‑month total of $103,000—and told commissioners that sum represented roughly 14% of the highway department’s budget to date. He asked how the county would manage costs once spring and summer grading work begins and whether contract vendors are submitting daily timecards and project‑level detail.
Commissioners and staff responded that the highway office and contract administrators should have records and that the board would follow up. The commission also discussed operational ideas such as requiring daily time sheets or GPS tracking for contracted motor graders to document location, hours and project numbers; a commissioner noted past requirements to provide daily project records when emergency contractors sought payment.
Speakers emphasized the need for transparency: who approves bills, whether signatures are present on invoices and how many actual days of blading occurred in the month. Commissioners committed to retrieving invoices and mileage reports and to reporting back at a future meeting.
Ending: Commissioners asked highway staff to provide copies of the February invoices, a tally of miles graded and the contractor time sheets so the board and public could review the work and reconcile it against claims.
