By Tom Latke
Kentucky Today
County officials are asking the General Assembly for some help in maintaining local roads and bridges.
Among those appearing before the House Working Group on Kentucky’s Transportation Infrastructure during a meeting in Frankfort was Hardin County Magistrate Dwight Morgan, who told the panel “the issues relating to our roads and bridges falls right in line with, or behind, the pension issue.”
Morgan said Hardin County road maintenance is dependent on money they receive from the motor fuel tax, since they do not use property taxes for that purpose.
“This is in part because of the current state statutes on occupational tax, which do not allow counties to receive similar revenues as certain incorporated cities.”
He also said since the gas tax fell from 32 cents to 26 cents per gallon, Hardin County has seen a loss of 16 to 20 percent in funding.
And he wasn’t alone over road concerns. Larue County Judge-Executive Tommy Turner told a similar story.
“We’ve reached a point, or possibly surpassed it, here in Kentucky and our local communities, of critical need for our roads. Our roads and bridges are crumbling before our eyes. And unless we address the critical funding need in transportation, we’re going to find ourselves in a situation much like our pension system.”
Turner told lawmakers that over the past 15-years his road fund has averaged an annual increase of one percent. But expenses have far outstripped that small increase and he cited an example.
“In 2002, hot-mix asphalt laid in place cost my county $33.50. In 2017, the bid is $72.50.”
Projected increases in pension costs will keep Larue County from putting any general fund money into the county roads department in the future. “I have fewer employees today than I had in 2002, yet my cost for those employees is about 75 percent more than it was in 2002,” he said.
Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, a member of the committee, sympathized with the plight of the two county officials. “It’s incumbent upon us to have the courage to get you more revenue because I see no way forward.”
The bi-partisan Working Group was formed by House Speaker Jeff Hoover to come up with innovative ways to address the state’s future transportation infrastructure needs.
They are to make recommendations by December on possible legislation for consideration by the 2018 General Assembly.