By Kyle LoJacono
A Pasco County program started during the high inflation of the late 1970s has been suspended because of the most recent economic downturn.
The county commissioners voted Feb. 8 to stop any new projects in its residential street paving program. The suspension was deemed necessary because homeowners in the program are not paying for the paving as they once did.
That, combined with a tight county budget, forced the move.
“It’s affected our cash flow,” said Pasco finance director Mike Nurrenbrock. He went on to say payments from citizens have gotten slower and slower as the economy has gotten worse.
The program, called the Paving Assessment Program, began in 1977. It allows residents in neighborhoods along certain county-maintained streets to petition Pasco to repave them. The job is funded and the homeowners pay for the project slowly during the following five to 15 years at a low interest rate.
Since the program was approved, the county has finished 467 projects and another two jobs involving drainage improvements at a total cost of $64 million. In the last 10 years, Pasco has done $38.9 million in similar construction, $1.7 since 2010.
All projects currently being done and those awaiting approval are not affected by the move, but homeowners planning to file for the program will be out of luck until the economy turns around. Those projects being done or awaiting approval total $7.5 million.
County commissioner chairwoman Ann Hildebrand said she does not want the program to end, but felt it was in the short-term best interest of the county.
“There are a lot of people who would like to see their road be done,” Hildebrand said. “To say after next year we’re going to eliminate this program, I guess that disturbs me a lot.”
Fellow commissioner Jack Mariano said what upsets him is county residents are almost always pleased with the work done.
“I can’t think of a single project we’ve done where we haven’t had a happy citizenry after were done,” Mariano said.
Both commissioners and Nurrenbrock said the suspension is a temporary way to save money during the budget cycle. If the program goes away for good, the county would have to increase its own public works programs to fix potholes and other issues on the roadways.
“We understand homeowners are more willing to pay their water and heating bills right now than the one for their roads,” Hildebrand said. “We’re hoping things get better, people start paying the bill again and we can go back to the old program.”
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