Keeping up with infrastructure maintenance and repairs seems to be one of the main issues that is affecting Newton County and the State of Mississippi.
The cost of maintenance needed has outpaced the growth in revenue over the years. Some taxes such as the state’s gas tax have been unchanged for more than 25 or 30 years.
In other cases, the state legislature has kept funding level or even cut some infrastructure programs to balance the state budget. And when it comes to infrastructure, the costs continue to rise even though the amount budgeted might still be the same.
Thus, the budget just doesn’t go as far as it used to. Fewer and fewer miles of roads are repaved. Fewer ailing bridges are replaced.
Fewer feet of water and sewer lines are upgraded each year. We try to make what we have last as long as we can.
There are several ways to attack the problem. One is to raise taxes to offset the rise in costs. This is the most unpopular way to do it. If you raise taxes too much too quickly, it likely means that local leaders are not as likely to be re-elected.
You can also do what Decatur has done and try to make upgrades with state and federal grants. Last year, I believe the Town of Decatur had more money tied up in grants than I think they had in the rest of their operating budget.
Some of these grants included much needed water and sewer upgrades along with paving projects throughout the city.
If you go this route, however, you are only able to move as fast as the state and federal government will let you. It might take longer and is more expensive than doing it yourself because you have to use architects, engineers and consultants to make sure that the job is done right.
Those layers are built in to make sure the job is done correctly, but it slows it down and adds cost.
Another option is to raise fees for services, such as what Union is doing in raising monthly water fees. Earlier this month, the board of aldermen agreed to raise fees by 29 percent to help cover costs.
The last option is doing nothing and hoping that your current system won’t break down. If you do that, it will cause major problems when the system does break down.
You either pay for it now or pay later. My hope is that the state will look seriously at our infrastructure problem and realize that it’s to our advantage to go ahead and pay for it now because it will cost us much more down the road.
Contact Brent at bmaze@-newtoncountyappeal.com.
