Politics & Government
Oconee County Public Works Director Warns That County Is Falling Behind On Road Maintenance
Beshara asked the commissioners to put, at a minimum, $130,000 of general fund revenue into his budget.
Oconee County Public Works Director Emil Beshara told the county’s commissioners last week that the county will fall further behind in maintenance of its 400 plus miles of road unless the Board changes the way the county funds roadway maintenance.
The county stopped putting general fund revenue into road work in Fiscal Year 2009, Beshara reminded the commissioners, relying instead on state revenue and money from the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
Beshara said he can continue to operate his department with whatever revenue the commissioners make available to him, but the county’s transportation infrastructure will suffer.
Beshara asked the commissioners to put, at a minimum, $130,000 of general fund revenue into his budget for the next two years so he can move forward on planned road maintenance and improvement projects.
In addition to the regular patching of roads, Beshara listed a series of projects he wants to complete, including improvements to the intersection of Rocky Branch, Virgil Langford and Mars Hill Road and to the intersection of Union Church Road and Hog Mountain Road.
The improvements in both cases would involve installation of a traffic signal.
For more on the story, go to Oconee County Observations.
Pictured: Emil Beshara, Public Works director.