PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners have sent a letter to their congressional delegation urging support for reauthorization of a bill that supports road construction projects.
Letters went out last week to U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, and Patty Murray, D-Seattle, as well as U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, asking them to support reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act (SRS).
The act was created in 2000 to compensate timber counties for low harvests. It has not been reauthorized for this year, and funding levels have dropped dramatically.
Although revenue has fallen in past years, “not having the program at all is simply unsustainable,” the letter says.
“Jefferson County will face severe financial problems, that without an SRS extension and funding, will require us to forego even the most basic maintenance and repairs to avoid bankruptcy.”
Shown support
Commissioner David Sullivan said the delegation members have all shown support for the reauthorization.
“They all know the issue real well and are on our side,” he said.
“It’s not a matter of us convincing them; it’s a matter of them convincing their colleagues.”
Kilmer has sent a letter to both Democratic and Republican House leadership that says counties and school districts rely on the funds to help support critical services, including education and infrastructure projects.
“Folks in Jefferson County and across the region have made it clear how important Secure Rural Schools is to providing essential services to rural communities,” Kilmer said in an email to the Peninsula Daily News.
“I’ll continue my push to get Congress to take up and pass a bipartisan reauthorization of this vital program.”
According to the commissioners’ letter, the fund generated $1.3 million for road maintenance and construction purposes, and another $1.3 million for schools prior to 2008. The amount given to the county represented about 25 percent of the Public Works Department’s operating budget for roads.
After that time, the fund generated only $420,000 annually, which, the county says, forced the county to defer maintenance on pavement, bridges and culverts.
Authorization for the program lapsed in September 2013, and the last payments were distributed in April 2014, according to Kilmer’s letter.
The situation became critical after several storms hit Jefferson County in late fall, resulting in severe damage to Upper Hoh, Dosewallips and South Shore roads, the county says.
Costly repairs
“All have been reduced to one lane and the necessary repairs will be costly,” the county’s letter says.
“Jefferson County does not have the financial resources on its own to deal with emergency situations like these.
“However, it is not a workable solution to resort to emergency funding after every storm. We need Congress to reauthorize and fund SRS.”
For the past six years, Congress has discussed whether to reauthorize the payments.
The government distributed $300,048,590 through the program in 2014, with $21,549,496 allocated to Washington state, according to the USDA.
In an email to the county, West End resident Ed Bowen criticized the program as “counties on welfare.”
‘Pothole program’
Bowen said the program is “a pothole program, where potholes get filled but they never address the real issue or get the job done.”
He suggested “a fresh and new approach could likely be for the county to withdraw its timber lands from state management and manage yourself for the county’s best interest.”
Sullivan agreed that the program does not provide a long-term solution but said it still is necessary.
“I would support anything that makes us less dependent on the uncertainty of the federal government and the state government, but it is slow coming,” he said.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
