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2018-08-22 BOCC PW Individual Update MinutesLewis County Board of County Commissioners Public Works Update August 22, 2018 Present: Commissioner Bobby Jackson, Commissioner Edna Fund, Commissioner Gary Stamper, Erik Martin, County Manager; Tim Fife, County Engineer; Becky Butler, Lara McRea, recorder Start 11:02 am ADMINISTRATION Budget- 2019 Preliminary Budget Discussion/Reduction Scenarios/Roads Fund Balance- Tim asked the board for help from the general fund this year to help subsidize the roads budget. A handout was presented to the board and highlighted areas where the budget could be reduced. He also said these highlighted areas are places he is advocating for but the choice is up to the board. Public Works is asking that some or all of the $800k for the 2018 levy shift be given back to roads if the general fund is in a healthier state than originally projected. Tim described the projects and noted that some of the projects keep getting pushed down the road. Another handout was presented that shows approximately $16 million of road dollars being transferred to the general fund over the past 10 years for traffic policing and three major levy shifts. He noted that if the department does not go forth with the Borst Ave and North Fork Rd projects, then the funding will need to be paid back. The Borst Ave projects can be pushed another year but he does not want to do this. There is approximately $1 million in reimbursement revenue that has still not been received from FEMA for the Mays and Chandler Bridges. Tim has spoken with a representative from Homeland Security and is hopeful to get the ball rolling on this issue. Discussion was held regarding traffic policing Tim noted he is not advocating to reduce the Traffic program, just the dollars that are transferred from roads to the general fund for the program. Erik asked the board to think of the health of both the general fund and the roads fund as both funds belong to them. Tim discussed the history of the roads projects to include King Rd. which required a large county match. The year following the King Rd project, 3R was tabled to save money for the Hwy 603 project. He would like to get to a point where funds can be reserved for unanticipated projects and disasters. Erik said that Boistfort was an unanticipated project and the road was going to fall into the river if it wasn’t fixed. In this case the roads fund absorbed the cost and fixed it. Tim feels the funds need a $4-$5 million fund balance for operations, cash flow and disasters. Tim said in the previous county he worked they cut maintenance back to cover the cost of construction projects but he does not want to do this as it will defer maintenance and roads will deteriorate in a short period of time. It will end of costing way more money to repair them down the road. Becky noted there is a projection of $4 million use of reserves for the 2019 budget year. She also noted SRS funding will be received for 2018 but it is unclear if any more funding will be received in future years. Erik said that there are not very many construction projects scheduled 2019. Tim noted the cost of oil and asphalt has increased in recent years. Discussion was held regarding a potential future recession and also noting that the roads fund needs to be thought about when making budget decisions. The board asked what else could be cut from the budget if they did not give some funding back to the roads fund. Tim noted he would cut the 3R program and Federal Forest Rd improvements. The board would like time to review the request an another meeting will be set for Wednesday, August 29th at 9:00 am. Meeting ended at 11:52 a.m.