budget cuts mean more paved roads

[SoWalSally]

http://www.waltonsun.com/news/county_1614___article.html/walton_money.html

Walton County is starting to feel the impacts of budget cuts at the state level, with every division throughout the county being affected, according to Sara Comander, Dist. 4 County Commissioner.

During the past two years, Walton County's budget has been reduced by $10.2 million, Comander said. "Public works and constitutional officers, such as the clerk of court and tax collector, took the biggest hits."

Ongoing projects will not be affected by the shrinking budgets, but no new money will be available to start new projects, said Cindy Meadows, Dist. 5 County Commissioner.

"Walton County has been fiscally conservative in past years and is in a good place," said Meadows. "We can still run the government unlike other counties in the state."

To save money in the long run, county officials are pushing to have as many dirt roads paved as possible while they still have the funds to do it.

"We actually save substantial money because they don't require grading," said Comander. Grading machinery is expensive to maintain, requiring a trailer for transporting it, two operators, fuel and maintenance costs plus its original purchase price.

District 5 has borrowed $15 million to implement an accelerated paving program, which will pave twice as many roads as usual. The district has approximately 28 miles of dirt roads.

"Anytime you can get the money and do it now is better, because prices go up every year," said Meadows. "We have the opportunity to save money in the future."

Besides locking in lower costs, paving projects will also provide employment opportunities.

The county also cut down on driving costs by changing to a four day work week in 2005 and rescheduling meetings to ensure people are not being forced to drive back and forth all over the place, said Meadows.

The next budget workshop will be held at the South Walton Courthouse Annex at 9 a.m. on July 10.

 

[ckhagen]

They can start with my road! Please!!!
It's 30+ yrs old, has over 20 homes on it, and only three blocks from 98. Traffic for this many homes means frequent grading. I'm so tired of having a filthy car, 6 yrs of it has pretty much ruined the paint. You can't wash it enough because the second you leave the house it's covered in dirt again.

 

[Kurt]

NOTICE of WORKSHOP - July 10
Issued by Larry D. Jones, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners
The Walton County Board of Commissioners will hold a Workshop on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 9:00 AM at the South Walton Courthouse Annex located at 31 Coastal Centre Blvd., Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. The purpose of this Workshop is to discuss the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Budget. Please be governed accordingly. By Dede Hinote, Administration, 850-892-8155

 

[Kurt]

They can start with my road! Please!!!
It's 30+ yrs old, has over 20 homes on it, and only three blocks from 98. Traffic for this many homes means frequent grading. I'm so tired of having a filthy car, 6 yrs of it has pretty much ruined the paint. You can't wash it enough because the second you leave the house it's covered in dirt again.

Contact Starsky Harrell, Work Program Manager (850) 892-8108 harstarsky@co.walton.fl.us

 

[doxiegirl]

I don't understand. The road was dirt when you moved there. Why is it an issue now?

Doxiegirl

 

[wrobert]

I don't understand. The road was dirt when you moved there. Why is it an issue now?

Doxiegirl

You must remember. The plan is always to buy land cheaper on poorer constructed dirt roads. Then pressure local politicians to take tax dollars from those that paid more on nice paved roads and pave those dirt roads. This causes a very slow increase in values which are protected by SOH, leading the person who bought on the dirt road to get a really nice upgrade by the benefit of other peoples hard work.

This of course is one way to look at it.


What about the people who buy land abutting airports for really good prices. Then complain about the noise forcing the airport to either close or make expensive upgrades or policy changes to reduce the noise. Then those people end up getting a really good deal.

 

[ckhagen]

I don't understand. The road was dirt when you moved there. Why is it an issue now?

Doxiegirl

I was told when we moved here that the road was slated to be paved relatively soon.
I don't know why exactly that turned out not to be the case as there are 10 different versions of the story, but I never expected for it to not be paved 6 years later.

 

[wrobert]

I was told when we moved here that the road was slated to be paved relatively soon.
I don't know why exactly that turned out not to be the case as there are 10 different versions of the story, but I never expected for it to not be paved 6 years later.

I think everyone that bought on a dirt road was told that it was slated to be paved soon. Maybe this is a real estate sales thing.

 

[scooterbug44]

I don't WANT my dirt road paved!

Makes it hotter, takes forever for them to do a crappy job, and it's a mess!

 

[lennonsdarlin]

My friends bought on Nellie 12 years ago because it was "next on the list" to be paved!!!! It was paved yesterday!!!! WAHOOOO!