Thurmont Shocked at State Pricetag
Despite a decade of deep cuts to local governments’ share of the state’s highway user revenue, the State Highway Administration is enforcing a 25-year old policy that could cost the Town of Thurmont an additional $60,000 a year to make repairs to the town’s state roads.
[Photo, left, Thurmont road repair, courtesy of John Kinnaird.]
Mayor John Kinnaird was stunned to discover that the SHA is requiring the town to pave and mill 25 ft. of roadway on each side of the road, 60 ft. long and 15 ft. wide, to patch five feet of excavated roadway. The town had fixed a water service leak, and kept excavation to a minimum, Kinnaird said. Now, a $1000 job just jumped to $7,000. The repair was made on a state road, West Main Street, that bisects the town.
“I understand the need to keep roads in good condition, but unfortunately the state has cut out 90 percent of highway user funds,” Kinnaird said. “We went from $600,000 to $130,000 plus some grant money, so this puts a burden on our rate payers.”
Thurmont has a population of 6,300. Utilities like water, sewer and electricity are enterprise funds, where users pay directly for services. Counties and municipalities have seen their share of highway user funds, mostly comprised of the state’s gas tax, drop between 88 and 90 percent in the past decade as federal transportation funding dried up and the economy took a nosedive.
Between 2010 and 2015, the state highway user fund was cut by $2.1 billion. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) campaigned on restoring the funds, but has been unable to make much of dent. The state’s 2018 budget adds $8.8 million in transportation funding over last year.
When Kinnaird contacted SHA’s district 7 office, which encompasses Frederick, Carroll and Howard Counties, he said he was told that the state’s policy outlining the criteria for repairing state roads has been on the books for 25 years but has not been enforced. Kinnaird said this is the first he’s heard of the policy, and there have been no prior complaints from the SHA on the town’s work on state roads. “If we knew about it, we could plan and budget for it,” he said. “It’s kind of a shocker, really.”
If the town makes an average of 10 repairs a year, it could cost rate payers an additional $60,000 to $70,000 a year, the mayor said.
Engineers are looking for a way to give the town some leeway, the mayor said, but he has not yet heard what the options are. “They said they will try to work with us. I agree about doing a job right, but I’m not sure digging up an extra 50 ft. of roadway is the right thing,” he said.
A phone call to the SHA District 7 Office's maintenance project supervisor Chuck Triesh, was not returned by press time.
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