The South (Clinton) County Squawker

April 2026

Will our county commissioners commit? - More transparency is needed when it comes to road and bridge maintenance.

As citizens of this county, we want to know the simple facts about how our roads and bridges are managed. To that end, any candidate for county commissioner should commit to providing the following.

1. 📊 Full Annual Road & Bridge Budget Transparency

A yearly published budget, easily accessible on the county website, that includes:

• Total revenue sources (taxes, state, federal)

• Full itemization of expenditures, including:

  • Labor

  • Materials (gravel, culverts, etc.)

  • Equipment

  • Contracted services

• Year-end actuals vs budgeted amounts

👉 No summaries—full detail.

2. 🛣️ Clear, Data-Driven Maintenance Prioritization

A defined and publicly available process for prioritizing road and bridge work that includes:

• Traffic volume (higher-use roads prioritized)

• Road type and condition

• Economic importance (school routes, farm-to-market, emergency access)

• Safety considerations

👉 Not all roads are equal, and maintenance should reflect that.

3. 📍 Proactive Maintenance Identification System

A formal method for identifying maintenance needs that does not rely solely on citizen complaints, including:

• Routine inspections on a defined schedule

• Road condition tracking by segment

• Use of data (traffic, wear patterns, past repairs)

👉 Citizens should not be the primary reporting system.

4. 📅 Biannual Maintenance Report & Scorecard

A twice-yearly public report that clearly shows:

• Planned vs completed maintenance

• Roads serviced (by name/location)

• Type of work performed

• Amount of materials used (e.g., tons of gravel)

• Variances and explanations

👉 If something wasn’t done, explain why.