Local towns get funding for roadwork
By From staff reports
Published in News on October 8, 2012 1:47 PM
Wayne County's seven municipalities will have received more than $1.25 million in state street aid funds by the time the second disbursement of Powell Bill and N.C. Highway Trust Fund money is handed out in January.
The first disbursement, half of each municipality's total, was transferred to each respective town Oct. 1.
The amount each municipality receives is figured from a formula set by the General Assembly whereby 75 percent is awarded based on population while 25 percent is based on the mileage of streets each municipality maintains.
Each community is able to determine how to spend its money, so long as it is on qualified uses, which include street maintenance, resurfacing or construction and sidewalk construction.
Goldsboro officials used last year's Powell Bill funds on new street maintenance equipment, maintenance worker salaries, sidewalk construction, bridge maintenance and bike lane construction as well as to pay down debt service.
The more than $1 million the city will receive this year hasn't yet been designated for any projects, but Finance Director Kaye Scott said there are street surfacing projects the City Council has discussed that would qualify.
The city received $501,729.20 this month.
In Mount Olive, Town Manager Charles Brown said the money will be used for small repaving projects and to repair some streets.
The town, which is the county's second largest in population and also maintains the second-most amount of street mileage, received $68,819.68 this month -- half of its $137,639.36 total.
The rest of funds distributed to Wayne County municipalities this month, half of each town's full allocation, were divided as follows:
* Eureka - $6,055.31
* Fremont - $43,873.22
* Pikeville - $22,334.91
* Seven Springs - $4,426.84
* Walnut Creek - $35,305.06.