STARKVILLE — The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors will have further discussion on funding mechanisms for infrastructure projects at its Monday meeting.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer is keen to see the board pursue a bonding package for road work, economic development and recreation. Roads, a common thread amongst all residents, will be the focus, Trainer said.
Trainer will present the board with an updated sheet of interest rate terms for general obligation bonds at the meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. at the county courthouse. Trainer said the only action that could be taken publishing a public notice of intent to finance road repairs.
“The interest rates are lower now,” Trainer said. “And with it being the beginning of the term, it would be good to get this thing off the ground so we could get started when the weather is better.”
Trainer said many of the county’s roads, including Crigler Road, Wade Road and portions of Blackjack Road, need to be reshaped, repaved or refinished with a new soil cement layer. He said the county’s growth has accelerated the county’s four-year road plan, which, by law, the county must update each year, Trainer said.
Trainer estimated close to $10 million would make a significant dent in road repairs. To get there, he said, raising taxes won’t be necessary. Trainer said funding could be generated by shifting millage from other line items in the budget and using existing funds allocated to road and bridge repair.
“The county also has about $35 million in bonding capacity,” Trainer said. “We have some flexibility. Now, if we wanted to add new millage, it would not be a popular term to use when trying to gain public support. But I don’t think we’ll have to do that.”
Before the county issues bonds, the board will hold public hearings and vote on the terms of the bond package.
“Each supervisor values the concerns of the people in his district,” Trainer said. “That’s understandable. You’ve got to listen to your people and what they want. Better roads is what the people in my district want. Having these discussions is healthy for the board. There may be specific things they want to tie into a bonding package.”
Projects that require additional funding likely would require new taxes, Trainer said.
Residents are paying off two bonds — the county road bond from 2001 and the $27.5 million hospital bond that passed in 2008.
The board didn’t raise property taxes for the 2012 budget but did in 2011. For an owner of a $100,000 home in the county, the increase equaled an extra $44.80 per year. The previous total tax on the home was $764.90. The increase took it to $809.70.
Trainer, however, is confident that if presented clearly to the public, a tax increase would be supported. The board, he said, must continue to find creative ways of financing to lessen the tax burden.
“I know a lot of my ideas have been called ambitious,” Trainer said, “but it fuels me when I talk to other supervisors around the state and see what they’re able to do. That’s why I’m excited about what our new board can get accomplished.”
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