Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apartments
Classifieds
Shopping
The Indiana House approved legislation that would effectively require the Allen County commissioners to once again maintain and repair all bridges in the county, including those in Fort Wayne, New Haven, Huntertown and other municipalities. If approved by the Senate, the Indiana General Assembly would reverse a shortsighted, bad-government decision by the commissioners to abdicate their responsibility for taking care of bridges in cities and towns.
The measure is far from perfect. But it may be the best move county motorists and all Hoosiers can hope for out of this year’s legislature.
The bridge language is all but lost in an omnibus bill that includes numerous technical changes to property tax law and is not likely to be discussed at length – if it all – by lawmakers. At worst, the language will be excised or changed in conference committee with few lawmakers taking notice. At best, the General Assembly will adopt it along with a host of other changes, and the bridge issue will receive little attention.
The language of the bill stops just short of making absolutely clear a responsibility that officials across Indiana had long assumed: That county government is responsible for the maintenance and repairs for all the bridges within their counties, the only exception being those on state highways.
The Allen County commissioners challenged that long-held practice last year. They unilaterally declared they would no longer pay for the upkeep and repairs of bridges shorter than 200 feet within cities and towns. Because the county has a major bridge fund dedicated to taking care of bridges longer than 200 feet, the county would continue its responsibility for all those.
Language in House Bill 1447 would require any county with a major bridge fund to take care of all bridges, while allowing the counties to use that fund for those shorter than 200 feet as well. The language is a result of influence from state Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, who had written a separate bill on the issue before lawmakers combined that and numerous other issues into HB 1447.
Commissioner Nelson Peters said the legislative solution could still leave short-term financing problems. He noted that the commissioners plan to use much of the money in the fund to make bond payments for bridges on the long-debated Maplecrest Road extension.
The commissioners brought this problem on themselves, however, by eliminating the cumulative bridge fund – a separate, property tax-financed fund – in 2002. If they again are required to assume bridge responsibility, they will need to find a solution. Raising the wheel tax or looking toward federal stimulus money for the Maplecrest project are among the options.
The need for the legislature to even become involved is regrettable but was inevitable due to the commissioners’ irresponsible decision last year to drop their bridge responsibilities even while in the midst of discussions with city and town officials about bridges. The proposed legislative solution isn’t perfect, but it is acceptable.
