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Road and Bridge’s Davis asks Harrison County for higher budget to cover rising materials and aging equipment
Summary
At a Harrison County budget hearing, Road and Bridge representative Davis asked commissioners for multiple line-item increases — including $175,000 for base stabilization and $300,000 for paving materials — citing rising gravel, oil and equipment costs and the age of key machinery.
Chair (speaker 2) opened the budget hearing about 10:25 a.m. and introduced the Road and Bridge presentation by Davis. Davis told commissioners the department is seeking both modest and large increases across several lines to keep county roads maintained amid rising material and equipment costs.
Davis listed a series of proposed adjustments: a $500 increase for safety supplies; a $1,280 increase to the cell-phone allowance; a $15,000 increase for sand and gravel; a $175,000 increase for base stabilization; and a $300,000 increase to road oil and paving materials to sustain in-house work on roughly 20 miles of Type D road. "We're asking for a $175,000 in that line," Davis said. He added that native gravel and clay prices have risen and suppliers recently warned of further increases.
Davis also requested $100,000 for coverage and permanent structures, $150,000 for contract construction (including mowing and chip-seal work), and $319,000 for equipment — chiefly to replace aging pneumatic rollers. He described the rollers as roughly 24 years old and said two of four are breaking down on every job. "We've got 2 of them that are, 2,000 models, so they're 24 years old," he said. The department reported a $32,000 decrease in equipment lease payments after acquiring a water tank and truck that ended a prior lease.
On specialized machinery, Davis asked for a new "zipper" attachment (used for mixing soil cement and stabilizing bases) to replace a unit he said dates to about 2004, and he said the department has reduced software support costs by $5,110 after moving to a new work system with no setup fees this year. Vehicle purchases were listed at $117,963.32, with updated quotes received from Enterprise Fleet Management.
Davis emphasized construction technique as a longevity strategy, saying the department will prioritize soil-cement-stabilized bases and then contractor-applied chip seal to extend life spans. "We're not gonna do a road without soil cement in the base anymore," he said, arguing such roads last much longer and reduce repeat patching.
Commissioners pressed operational questions about the department's ProPATCH truck and coverage. One commissioner asked whether a single ProPATCH truck can service all precincts; Davis said the truck is rotating through precincts and that additional units would be helpful, while hand patching and two smaller patch crews cover other needs. The discussion also covered per-ton pricing for soil cement: Davis said the current figure being used is $166.50 per ton (about $10 higher than last year), noting that a typical load carries roughly 25 tons and shipping and fees are additional.
Chair (speaker 2) told the room staff are working on ballot language for a county assistance district sales tax for unincorporated areas this fall; he said the current Road and Bridge budget is about $7,000,000 and that a county assistance district could add $5–6 million if voters approve the measure. Commissioners and Davis agreed that further meetings and updated spreadsheets would be provided to clarify the comparative numbers between this year and last.
The commission recessed briefly pending the sheriff's arrival and indicated the next items on the agenda would be the main jail and annex and building maintenance later in the day.
