Increased secondary roads spending attributed to significant bridge work

Jasper County is going to spend a few million dollars more than it normally does for the secondary roads department this coming fiscal year. County Engineer Michael Frietsch reasoned the almost $2 million jump from last year is in large part due to the amount of bridges damaged in the May 2024 floods.

The county’s secondary roads budget for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) was unveiled and approved at the April 8 board of supervisors meeting. Frietsch walked though the revenues and expenditures with officials during a public hearing and explained the secondary roads department has a lot of bridge work planned.

“We got a lot of bridges in this number, and we got the bridge in Mingo so that’s definitely causing our expenditures to be higher going into ’26,” he said.

Frietsch noted the secondary roads budget presented to the supervisors only features property tax dollars and Road Use Tax funds, so it does not include the farm-to-market account or any federal moneys. The funds are separated into estimated receipts for current year and the next year, and prior actual receipts.

The actual receipts from prior years only feature the first prior year (FY24) and the second prior year (FY23). According to those receipts, secondary roads has revenues of more than $19 million in FY23 and more than $20 million in FY24. It is estimated the county took in more than $18 million in FY25.

For now, it is estimated the secondary roads department in Jasper County will have more than $19 million in revenue in FY26.

“As you can see, revenues are not really increasing much at all,” Frietsch said.

It is important to note the secondary roads department often has $7 million to $10 million in its starting balance when starting a new fiscal year.

When it comes to expenditures, the secondary roads department is seeing a steady increase from year to year. In FY23 and FY24, the department spent more than $10.5 million and more than $10.6 million. It is estimated the county spent more than $11.2 million in FY25, which is this current year.

However, expenditures are seeing a noticeable jump in FY26. Budget documents show an estimated $13.6 million is planned to be spent this next fiscal year.

“That expenditure is accounting for us cashflowing the bridge in Mingo,” Frietsch said. “So that’s one of the reasons why that’s high. And then we’ve got a lot of bridge work that we got to do for the bridges that were damaged back last May as well that need to be replaced.”