March 2009

Road Funding

Road funding is always hot topic, but with the flooding in Iowa last summer, Iowa’s rural infrastructure is in desperate need of attention.

State and federal funding for road funding is handed down to each county to administer. How each county uses the funding is up to them.

What can you do on the local level when the dollars are allocated to your county? At the 2009 PIC Conference, SWAT team members from around the state, discussed strategies and tips to getting their rural roads prioritized and funded.

• Communicate with your supervisors AND your county engineer.
• Know your county’s process or time line for determining priorities.
• Meet with decision-makers before the process begins to establish a meaningful dialogue and relationship.
• Many engineers implement a five year plan.
• Give local input consistently to the engineer
• Engineers determine priorities
• Supervisors determine what get funded.
• Understand that the engineer’s time line is different than the county supervisors.
• Be open to sharing information on both sides.
• Be persistent with county engineer; don’t give up if there is resistance.
• Work as a group; demonstrate the systemic need, not just individual need.
• Continuously work on communicating with your engineer about needs.
• Realize it is a team effort with county.
• Work with the media to gain visibility.
• Meet consistently with engineer (and other county officers).
• Consider holding a meeting with all county officers to create more clarity between departments.
• Don’t meet with engineer at county budgeting time, he’s already done with his prioritization work at that time.
• Realize the five year work plan is flexible and changes based on county needs.