The South (Clinton) County Squawker

April 2026

Author: Charles Ford

Opinion

Available data for county road/bridge related expenditures in 2025 is sketchy so far - none is available on line. We eagerly await the results of the latest state audit. Although the question does hang in the air - "why isn't that data available to the public on line already in 2026?"

Data from the 2020/2021 state audit does provide some historical context. The reported road and bridge fund expense was 1.9 million dollars. Of that, a reported 800 thousand dollars (apx) was spent on "materials". Given that a reported $74,000 dollars in IRS penalties was paid in those years, it will makes it difficult to lobby that better roads are simply a matter of more spending. Waste, fraud and abuse (regardless of explanation) has many residents of our county adamantly against further spending increases of any kind. At this point we need common sense, creative solutions. We need to restore confidence in county leadership so that we CAN ultimately align expenditures and revenues with needs in this county. The 2026 Audit results will hopefully tell us a lot.

The question that will be answered in the August primary, and in subsequent years is - "do we have leaders in place that will be transparent, work hard to improve county services, and make themselves accountable to the residents of our county?"

The Clinton County Squawker is an independent publication focused on transparency, accountability, and local government reporting.

How much was spent? Where did the money go?