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With population up and revenue down, infrastructure is slippin through the cracks

La Plata County crews are responsible for ensuring that our 653 miles of county road – 222 miles paved and 431 miles gravel – provide our residents and visitors with safe, efficient routes around and through the 1,690 square miles of the county. This is no small endeavor given the range of terrain county roads cover: narrow canyons, steep mountains, vast mesas, neighborhoods, agricultural land, rural areas and connecting cities and towns.

The county’s road network linking our diverse and far-flung regions is a vital public asset providing critical infrastructure to support families, businesses and visitors – both today and those to arrive in the future.

Today, our county population is about 56,000 – an increase of more than 6.5 percent since 2010, with a projected growth rate of at least 2 percent in the years to come. While we have several vibrant municipal centers throughout La Plata County where population density is concentrated, the majority of our residents lives in unincorporated areas of the county. That means for 63 percent of the population, county roads are absolutely essential for traveling to and from work, home, church, school, dinner, recreational outings, shopping or any other activity. For those who live in Bayfield, Durango or Ignacio, county roads are nevertheless critical, connecting these towns – and their residents, customers, employees, visitors and businesses – to one another and to each municipality’s outskirts. No matter where in the county you wish to travel, county roads get you there.

Keeping these roads in good shape requires a two-fold approach: strategically identifying and investing in road improvement projects that respond to traffic and safety trends, and sufficiently maintaining those investments to ensure they remain in safe, adequate condition to serve county residents and visitors. Suitable funding for maintenance and construction is essential, and national economic forces in recent years have made this increasingly challenging for La Plata County.

Historically, taxes from natural gas and oil production have constituted the bulk of La Plata County’s coffers. Since 2010, though, gas and oil tax revenue has fallen about 60 percent in the county because of nationwide price declines and corresponding drops in local production.

This decline alone has had a compound effect on the county’s dedicated Road & Bridge fund – first because of the drop in locally generated property taxes from gas and oil production, and second because of reduced state grants that are primarily funded by severance tax collected on gas and oil extraction. These have been a critical source of Road & Bridge funding, providing $16.3 million for road improvement projects since 2002.

This has affected the entire La Plata County budget, but the Road & Bridge fund is taking the brunt of the blow, forcing our crews to defer maintenance and construction projects so as to stretch fewer dollars farther. We are deeply committed to spending the public’s resources wisely, and La Plata County values efficiency and lean government, so some trimming is appropriate. However, failing to properly invest in our essential infrastructure is not efficiency, nor is it fulfilling a basic responsibility of county government: to provide safe, effective roads for residents and visitors.

We have crafted a 10-year improvement plan to address some of the most challenged roads in La Plata County. This $33.8 million blueprint would complete 24 miles of road reconstruction in 12 projects, 32 miles of asphalt paving across 12 areas, and 11 intersection and bridge projects. This plan stretches across La Plata County to ensure that our essential road network can carry our growing population safely and effectively.

In order to complete this work, though, and ensure that we can perform adequate year-round maintenance on our roads to keep them in good shape, La Plata County must make an investment. We are considering asking voters to increase their property taxes by 2.4 mills – or about $76 a year for a $400,000 home. Doing so would generate about $4 million in annual funding to support the essential infrastructure that connects our county. The tax increase would sunset after 10 years.

We do not make this consideration lightly. La Plata County takes stewardship of public resources seriously and budgets carefully to live within our means. The county has not increased its property tax mill levy since 1992, and we are proud of that. However, we have reached a tipping point that requires additional investment to ensure that ours is a county that serves its residents, businesses, guests and future arrivals well.

Please take time to learn more about the county’s road-improvement plan and how we propose to execute it. There is detailed information available at www.co.laplata.co.us or call any of us to find out more.

We want to make La Plata County the best it can be – from the ground up – and we believe safe, sound roads are a critical component of that goal.

The La Plata County Board of County Commissioners is made up of Brad Blake, chairperson; Julie Westendorff, vice chairperson; and Gwen Lachelt. Reach them at 382-6219.



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