ISLAND COUNTY / JANET ST. CLAIR: Low, Paul seek funding solutions for rural county roads | HeraldNet.com (FB)
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Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair (D-Camano Island) posted this to her Facebook page on .
Take Me Home, County Roads
Thank you Rep. Paul and Rep. Low for your advocacy and support for county road maintenance.
“The transportation systems owned, operated, and maintained by the state’s 39 counties include almost 80,000 lane miles of roads, 3,300 bridges, and four ferry systems. The annual county road department budget exceeds $1.2 billion per year, funded by local property taxes, a share of the state motor vehicle fuel tax, federal and state grants, and other sources.” County Road Administration Board (CRAB)
Island County, as part of Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC), is working to make sure local roads continue to be maintained and safe for our residents. Unfortunately, as WSAC notes, we have seen consistent erosion of funding from the state.
“The unsustainable reality is: County transportation budgets are going backward. Counties’ transportation dollars, when adjusted for inflation, are fewer than they were twenty years ago. Existing limitations on counties’ ability to keep pace with growing obligations have created an annual transportation funding gap of at least $1 billion.”
Bipartisan bill HB1098 addresses this issue. Read the Everett Herald article below for more information. Thank you, Jordan Hansen for the coverage.
As always, for more information about Island County issues, email me at j.stclair@islandcountywa.gov
A new bill would seek money to fix county roads.
