Municipalities get shares of street repair aid
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on October 21, 2013 1:46 PM
Wayne County municipalities have received about half of the $1.25 million in Powell Bill money allocated by the state Department of Transportation for street repairs.
The rest will be made available by the end of the year, according to state officials.
The money has been appropriated each year since 1951 through the Powell Bill to fund the upkeep of non-DOT roads in municipalities.
Goldsboro will receive the bulk of the funds in the amount of $1,000,609.54.
Last year, $2.3 million was spent on street maintenance, $1 million of which went to repayment of street bonds and also to purchase rights of way for the Berkeley Boulevard expansion.
"We spend more than we get, but it definitely helps a lot," Goldsboro Finance Director Kaye Scott said.
Goldsboro received an increase of 1.6 percent over last year's allocation of $1,003,458.
More than $145 million is set to be paid to the more than 500 municipalities that rely on this program each year.
"We get that money every year so it is already in the budget and we'll just use it when we get ready to. We have a few streets that need some work," Fremont Town Administrator Kerry McDuffie said.
The town will squirrel away its allocations while other grant funding is used to complete water system upgrades, he said.
Fremont has been allocated a little more than $44,000 in street-aid funds.
"We'll put that money in the bank and let it gain interest. There is no point in fixing the roads and then tearing them up to fix the water system," McDuffie said.
Funds are allocated to the municipalities based on the number of residents and the miles of non-DOT roads that are in the municipality.
Seventy-five percent of the $145 million is divided based on population and the remaining 25 percent by length in miles. The funds are paid out at a rate of $20.62 per person and $1,632.91 per mile.
The program has paid out more than $3.7 billion since beginning at $4.5 million in 1951 with 386 participating municipalities.
Goldsboro has the most non-DOT maintained roads at 163 miles, while Eureka has the least at 1.26 miles followed closely by Seven Springs at 1.34 miles.
They are receiving a little more than $6,000 and $4,500 respectively.
Mount Olive is being allocated a little more than $140,000 for its 26 miles of non-DOT roads and Pikeville will receive about $22,700 for its 5 miles of non-DOT streets.
The allocation is funded through the state fuel tax.