Highway official: county has salt supply and expects gas-tax reimbursement by November

County highway staff updated commissioners on salt inventories, flood repairs, the temporary gas-tax suspension and the Community Crossings grant timeline.

Staff said the county’s allocated supply of 200 tons of untreated road salt is available and that building inventories are full; treated-salt shortages affecting other districts should not affect Washington County. Road crews continued post-flood patching and gravel-road repairs in some locations.

The presenter explained a three-month suspension of the state gas tax will reduce major highway (MBH) funds by around $450,000 and local road and street funds by about $75,000. He said the governor had pledged to reimburse the lost gas-tax revenue by no later than November, so the immediate impact will be a reduction in the county’s fund balance but not a permanent loss if reimbursement occurs as promised.

Staff also highlighted the Community Crossings call for projects beginning Sept. 1, 2026, and explained that Washington County is eligible for the full $1,000,000 allocation because it did not receive a limited lane-mile distribution. The presenter noted that jurisdictions that previously received limited lane-mile funds will have that amount subtracted from the $1,000,000 maximum.

Commissioners asked about the mileage of blacktop and gravel roads; staff said the county has roughly 780 miles of blacktop and just under 100 miles of gravel and that crews were continuing recovery work after recent flooding. No policy decisions were taken during the report; staff provided the status and said they would move forward with planned submissions for Community Crossings.