County roads may suffer as the highway department once again is getting less money from the state this year.
Dennis Pletcher, Kosciusko County Highway Department Supervisor, spoke to the County Commissioners Tuesday morning and gave them a heads up as to expected budget shortfalls.Pletcher, who is working on the 2010 budget due in July, told the commissioners that Motor Vehicle Highway fund, better known as the fuel tax, will once again give Kosciusko County less money than the previous year.
In 2004, Kosciusko County received $3.7 million from the state.
This year, Pletcher is expected to receive $2.9 million.
Basic operating costs for the county highway department is about $4.2 million a year.
Pletcher said that his department has tightened its belt as much as it could without cutting services to the county.
"Something has to give," said Pletcher. "This is something that the local county council and commissioners can't fix. This is something that people need to get a hold of their state representatives and ring the bell."
Pletcher said that his department will be $1.3 million short this year.
The state's answer to county budget shortfalls, said Pletcher, was to enact local taxes.
But those local taxes can't cover things like payroll, said Pletcher.
"We're in dire straight," Pletcher told the commissioners. "We've made a lot of cuts, tightened belts. People driving down our county roads can see that."
Pletcher noted that they haven't replaced equipment like snow plows that have hit 400,000 miles.
Last year, despite streamlining, $420,000 was spent on diesel fuel alone.
"There's not money there to do jobs," said Pletcher.
"Everyone who pays taxes needs to call their state legislators," said Pletcher.
Commissioner Bob Conley said he recognized what the highway department has done to cut costs and thanked Pletcher for his efforts.
