The DeKalb Road Supervisor is asking for a tax increase to help pay for repairs of the county’s crumbling roadways. But some commissioners are questioning the department’s numbers, and how much is received each year from state funds.
DeKalb Road Supervisor Danny Hale appeared before a County Budget Committee meeting last Thursday evening making his pitch for the requested budget. In it, Hale is asking for an increase in the local property tax rate of 16 cents, which he says is needed to help pay for the county’s 513 miles of road. The increase would raise $991,520 in funds under the new certified property tax rate calculation. Currently, the certified tax rate is at $1.7308 per $100 of assessed value. If Hale’s request is approved the rate would increase to $1.8908 per $100 of assessed value.
According to Hale, the Road Department receives $173,502 from the state each month, and $16,143 from county revenue. Of the $189,645 received, $112,859 is spent on operating costs, leaving $76,786 per month for road repairs. With 513 miles of roads in DeKalb County, that leaves $149 per mile to chip and tar, or pave roads.
Of course all 513 miles of road in the county do not need work, but according to Hale, 85 percent of roads need some sort of attention. “That’s a reality,” Hale told the committee. “Our roads are all to pieces. You put 513 into 76,786, I have $149 a mile to chip or pave with. It costs us $32,000 to $35,000 per mile to chip a road and $110,000 to $180,000 per mile to pave. This is what I deal with.”
Hale told the committee that if the increase is approved, it would still only allow the department to tend to 32 to 35 miles per year, and that his department has also had to deal with Mother Nature. “To accomplish anything we’re going to have to put some money into roads,” Hale said. “This year alone we’ve had three disasters. We had an ice storm, and we worked night and day try to get it where people could get to their jobs. Before we could get the ice storm cleaned up, we had a flood. Actually we’re still working on that today. And before we could deal with all that we had a tornado.”
The Road Department is primarily funded by allocations from state revenues, such as gasoline and motor fuel tax, state aid program, and the petroleum special tax, but it also benefits from a local mineral severance tax and the county contributes four cents of the local property tax rate.
But some commissioner are confused about the Road Department’s numbers or how the budget was presented. Commissioner Dr. Scott Little pointed out some confusing numbers concerning yearly revenue and what was carried over from the previous budget. He and other commissioners are asking for a clearer picture of money spent and revenue coming in.
The committee is asking for some clarification before acting on the department’s request.
