The county has a plan for your roads!!! Well.....

[Patriot]

In yesterday's county commission meeting, a discussion regarding road maintenanced ensued.  During that hour long chat, including the public works superintendent, the county commission and a number of citizens in attendance, we learned a lot!

1.  The road department does not know, off hand, how much it costs, on average to upgrade or maintain our roads on a per mile basis (rock, fuel, labor, equipment repairs, etc.).

2.  The county commissioners cut the road budget for 2012 by $60,000 to cover the employee benefits fund (health & work comp insurance, unemployment contributions & employer payroll taxes) but could not say why the budget cuts came from the road dept. as opposed to other areas of county operations.

3.  The county has 5, or is it 7, or was it 6 operating road graders.

4.  Commissioner Liebau personally likes Cat brand graders as opposed to those made by John Deere (or was it the other way around), and, rather than cost, cost of operation, specific operating attributes, warranty, etc., that personal preference should be the deciding factor when purchasing/leasing a quarter million dollars worth of equipment on the taxpayers dime.

5.  Our graders should have joy stick controlles rather than steering wheels.... because, according to Commissioner Liebau, our younger operators play a lot of video games and are better adapted to the joy sticks.

6.  Our roads have not been properly kept up for years, and there is no clear explanation as to why this is the case.  Last year, Mr. Liebau told the public that, "Our roads are bad, always have been bad, and always will be bad".  Now our poor roads are a priority, he wants them all fixed up by fall..... before the elections?

7.  We can't find highly qualified equipment operators for two primary reasons.... 1)  $10.75/hr won't attract new operators, and; 2)  we lack enough money to raise those wages and/or hire additional qualified operators.

8.  Mr. Liebau thinks we should explore hiring outside, private contractors to accomplish major road upgrades (crowning, re-rocking, ditch & culvert repairs)  He, after all, has personally accomplished such work for as little as $15,000 for 5 miles of new road.  Really?

9.  The existing road repair plan is non-existent.  Our approach is an undocumented set of 'things that need to be done'.

10.  That Commissioner Liebau assures the public by saying,  "We have a plan.  Just give us some time."   When asked to show the plan to the public, Commissioner Hendricks finally spoke up clearly, and said, "Kenny!  WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN."

So, there you have it.  There was more, but you get the drift.  How are your roads? 

Folks, I would suggest this is not the fault of Superintendent Lackey, but rather the failure of top management to take their positions of public trust seriously enough to prioritize & require detailed formal planning for the medium and long term. 

The real plan created by your county commission?...  "Fly by the seat of your pants"... brought to you by Over the Curb & Gone Company, a subsidiary of Fly By Night Industries!

The results?  Well, just drive carefully.  And remember, the second half of your property taxes are due in May.

P.S.  There will be a special meeting of the County Board of Commissioners to talk all about our roads and "The Plan."  The meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 24th at 5 PM.  All such meetings are open to the public.