Northern Colorado county warns lack of road, bridge repair funding could cause budget to "go off a cliff in 2027"

CBS News

2 days ago

Funding for maintenance of bridges and roads not keeping up with inflation in Larimer County
Funding for maintenance of bridges and roads not keeping up with inflation in Larimer County
Funding for maintenance of bridges and roads not keeping up with inflation in Larimer County
One of the fastest-growing regions in Colorado is Northern Colorado, and Larimer County is the most populous of that part of the state. With so many people moving to the area and the continuous rise in inflation, officials with Larimer County are warning residents now that there is a pending shortfall when it comes to the county's budget for maintaining bridges and county roadways.
A road in Larimer County.
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Larimer County is larger in landmass than two states, and is home to more than 1,000 miles of county roads. That does not include roadways maintained by municipalities. The county is also responsible for maintaining 421 bridges, with more than 50 of them being deemed as needing repairs or replacement in the near future.
However, the county's annual budget of $7 million for roadwork and bridge repair is expected to be far short of what they project they will need by 2027.
"A lot of people work and recreate in different places (in the county). They go up to the foothills and back, and those are county roads," said Lesli Ellis, community planning infrastructure resources director for Larimer County. "We've had a lot of growth in the community. We have seen costs go up about 50% in the last five years for capital projects, infrastructure, and road projects."
While the cost of maintaining roads and bridges has increased, the amount of money residents throughout Larimer County contribute to the transportation department has remained stagnant.
According to Larimer County, residents who own a home valued at $600,000 only pay 75 cents per month toward road and bridge maintenance, an amount which the county officials say is not enough to continue upkeep of rural roads and bridges.
Larimer County Road 5.
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"So that is kind of a surprising thing to people. They pay a lot of property taxes on their house. It is kind of surprising that after it goes all the places it goes, there is not a lot of money going for road and bridge," Ellis said. "Without (additional) funding, we can fund about a quarter of the work we need to do in the community."
County officials project that the annual budget needed for projects in the next three years will exceed $28 million. However, without voter approval for additional taxes or another outlet to gain more funding, Ellis said three-quarters of the necessary projects will be left unattended.
"Without any increases and without any changes, we are starting to see (the transportation budget) diminish and go off a cliff in 2027," Ellis said.
The county has been working for months now to not only explore options for correcting the trajectory but also to educate the public about the possibility of needing to increase taxes in order to address the projected shortfall.
The county already has a list of more than 500 projects that need attention.
A drone shot over Larimer County.
CBS
The county has created a website in which the details of the projected shortfall are further detailed, and proposed cuts are also highlighted.
"(The current budget compared to the cost of maintenance) just doesn't match up. We have a widening gap," Ellis said.