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Public Works: county faces roughly $2.2 billion transportation backlog; staff outlines multiple revenue options
Summary
Public Works director Mark Bernath told the commission the county’s unfunded transportation backlog is about $2.2 billion and presented a report listing potential revenue options — from fuel‑tax increases to a discretionary sales surtax — that could close the gap over time if the board pursues them.
Public Works Director Mark Bernath told the Board of County Commissioners that Brevard County’s transportation backlog — combining capacity and maintenance needs identified by staff — currently totals roughly $2.2 billion.
Bernath said the county’s “backlog exceeds $2,200,000,000” and that the figure includes nearly $500 million tied to the proposed Wickham Corridor alone. He told commissioners that current, recurring funding covers only a portion of maintenance and capacity needs and that nearly $84 million of the department’s reported $176 million budget is already balance‑forward for multi‑year projects.
The nut graph: Bernath presented a “revenue‑generating report” that outlines multiple ways the county could raise transportation revenue — options include the ninth‑cent fuel tax, the fifth‑cent (LOGT) gas tax, a half‑percent or 1% discretionary sales surtax, and expanding public‑service/ franchise fees. The analysis shows a combination of those measures could substantially reduce the backlog in a multi‑year pay‑as‑you‑go scenario.
Bernath described constraints on existing dedicated transportation revenues. He said the 6¢ local option gas tax (LOGT) is the county’s largest fuel‑tax pot but that roughly $5.4 million of that revenue is committed to debt service (bonds) and another $3.5 million currently supports the county’s paving program. That leaves limited discretionary funding for new capacity projects, he said.
On impact fees, Bernath noted the county currently has $11.6 million allocated to transportation impact‑fee projects and about $15.9 million unallocated across the five benefit districts; he cautioned that the impact‑fee program was not large enough to pay for major capacity projects as currently configured.
Bernath told the commission that implementing the full package of recommended revenue changes could produce substantially more revenue and that, in his model, a coordinated multi‑year program could close much of the backlog in roughly a decade to two decades depending on assumptions and whether the county bonds or pays as it goes. He emphasized implementation would require phasing, additional staff and coordination with cities for some surtax options.
Bernath also warned of practical limits: the county is operating with an 18.5% vacancy rate in Public Works and expects that additional staffing and contracting resources would be necessary to design and execute a larger capital program.
Ending: Bernath left commissioners with a practical timetable for voter actions and legal steps if they want to pursue surtaxes or fuel taxes and recommended a phased approach. Commissioners asked staff for follow‑up information and district‑level project lists for further review.
