Road department seeks new hires and vehicles; county faces lost state paving funds that could shift costs to general fund

The Woodford County road supervisor outlined significant changes proposed in the road department draft budget, including hiring two additional full-time employees to create two full crews and reduce overtime, and funding for trucks and equipment to replace aging units.

At the meeting the supervisor said two long-term absences likely mean permanent replacements are needed, and argued two full crews — enabling 12-on/12-off schedules during winter response rather than extended shifts — would improve safety and reduce overtime. "If he can run 2 12 hour shifts, 12 on, 12 off, instead of trying to run 20, 22 hours...Safety factor comes in there," the supervisor said.

On equipment, the supervisor reminded the committee the county preordered two trucks last year and said the county will need to buy additional trucks to maintain reliability. Committee discussion noted rust and mechanical failures on many trucks and emphasized lead times and potential tariff-driven price increases on some international-brand parts. The supervisor said the county had budgeted roughly $1,150,000 to buy additional trucks and that preordered units are expected to arrive after July 1; some additional purchases might be carried into the following budget if lead times or tariffs cause delays.

The committee heard that the state’s county priority paving project fund yielded zero funding this cycle; the supervisor said about $166,000 previously spent was accounted for but that remaining allocations the county expected to carry forward will instead revert to the state’s rural and municipal road aid if not used in-year. "We learned that we were not approved for any of that funding for the next fiscal year. We got 0," the supervisor told the committee. He said county road-aid funds traditionally funded paving, salt, and salaries; without the county-priority allocation the court may need to consider shifting maintenance costs to the general fund in order to preserve paving plans.

The committee approved a motion authorizing the road supervisor to solicit quotes for road fluids after the initial procurement attempt received no valid bids. The motion was made by Squire Taylor and seconded by Squire Varner and carried.

Supervisory staff also identified a $100,000 FD-39 funding allocation for Old Clifton that must be expended before February of next year or risk being lost, and said Old Clifton and other flood-impacted roads will be priority pavements given recent flood damage. The supervisor recommended resurfacing Huntertown Road and an additional mile of Dry Ridge using any available flex funding when and if it becomes available.