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Henry County Council moves to advertise appropriations for bridges and IT from new max-levy revenue
Summary
The council voted to advertise additional appropriations in March to create rainy-day fund line items for bridges and culverts and for IT, with motions to place roughly $800,000 (bridges) and $150,000 (IT) on the March appropriation hearing agenda; liaisons were appointed to develop the IT plan.
The Henry County Council on Feb. 11 agreed to start the formal process to set aside new max-levy revenue for county infrastructure and technology.
Shannon moved that the council create a "Bridges and Culverts" line item in the county rainy-day fund and advertise an additional appropriation for the March meeting to allocate funds toward bridge work. "I would move that we create a Bridges and Colvert's line item in the rainy day fund and allocate $800,000 into that fund," Shannon said during the meeting. The motion was seconded and the chair directed staff to prepare the paperwork to advertise the appropriation and hold a March public hearing before any final vote.
Council discussion noted the urgency of moving forward: county staff and the highway department are preparing federal grant applications for bridge projects, and committing local funds now can increase competitiveness for federal scoring. Speakers referred to the recently received max-levy revenue in the range discussed aloud during the meeting (figures mentioned during discussion included approximately $800,000, $808,100, and $850,000); councilmembers said the exact appropriation figure will be finalized and formally advertised in advance of the March hearing.
Separately, members agreed to pursue a dedicated rainy-day line item for IT and technology to begin rotating aging county laptops and updating infrastructure. After back-and-forth about appropriate funding levels, the council placed a motion on the March agenda to advertise an initial appropriation of $150,000 for that IT line item. The chair asked that the council liaisons meet with the IT department to develop a plan and concrete numbers similar to the highway department’s presentation on bridges.
The council also moved to appoint Bobby and Shannon as the council liaisons to lead discussions with IT and report back to the full council. Chair remarks emphasized that advertising and a formal appropriation vote will be required in March before funds are moved.
Next steps: staff will prepare the advertising materials and the council will hold an additional-appropriation hearing at its March meeting, where members will vote on the final dollar amounts.
