Kosciusko County approves highway spending plan, okays equipment purchases and bridge funding

Kosciusko County commissioners approved the highway-related portions of the 2026 budget after a presentation by county highway staff, who outlined planned equipment purchases, contract increases and multiple bridge projects.

Steve Ramsey, a highway department representative, told commissioners the department tries "to touch 10% of the roads that we have every year," noting the county maintains roughly 138 miles targeted annually by treatments such as chip-and-seal, pug mix and microseal. Ramsey said the department balances the desire to spend carryover funds on roads against keeping taxpayer cash reserves: "At the same time, we don't want to leave too much cash because of the taxpayers' money. We wanna make sure that we get it on the roads as much as we can."

The commissioners approved the motor vehicle highway budgets and related locations after discussing several line-item changes. Ramsey described three main equipment-related increases: a rise in contractual services from $40,000 to $60,000 to cover contractor snowplowing needs; an increase in payments for outside tree services that require bucket trucks; and a planned purchase of a new pug mill to replace a 1973 unit that makes the county's pug mix. He said the county is combining 2025 carryover and 2026 funds so it can buy the pug mill in January 2026 without taking a loan.

Ramsey also described adjustments to truck purchases. Commissioners had placed a $300,000 figure in their budget for a single-axle dump truck; Ramsey said quotes vary (a 2024 quote for a single-axle was $292,000 and a tandem was $326,000) and that the highway office standardized its annual vehicle plan around one pickup, one single-axle dump and one tandem each year. He said a portion of truck funding was moved from the Local Road…