BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – A harsh winter has created a number of bumps on Brown County roads and to make matters worse the Public Works Department now finds themselves over budget.
But, they assure everyone that they’re not out of options.
The problem is that the price tag associated with clean-up projects continues to mount and is now forcing the county to adjust.
Paul Fontecchio, Brown County Public Works Director, says what faces them now is a game of give and take that shouldn’t be foreign to any homeowners.
“Let’s say you got a big water heater bill, well, maybe you don’t buy something else that month,” he explains in an example. “You have to put it off a month, it’s the same thing budgetarily.”
According to him, the department is currently more than $1 million over its budget.
While not included in that estimation, is $743,000 in flood damages.
“This winter was a tough winter on the roads,” says Fontecchio. “This year, it was like it aged the roads in dog years like three or four years in one.”
Most residents have taken notice of the battered roads, which includes Brooke Mleziba of De Pere.
“Sometimes you feel like your wheel might be popping off,” she says.
Mleziba admits that it’s not terrible by where she lives, but once she gets into the car and starts driving around that conditions begin to go downhill.
“I feel like De Pere isn’t necessarily the worst but once you definitely hit Allouez, Green Bay, it’s a little treacherous,” she explains.
For her, it’s more of a pipe dream to have road repairs completed in a timely fashion.
“I mean I guess one can wish but do I really feel like it’s going to happen anytime soon? Probably not,” she says.
Making matters worse is the expected absence of federal aid for the county.
Fontecchio explains that they fell short of the federal threshold to receive assistance.
“$983,000,” he says. “That would be the minimum threshold that we’d have to hit and of course we’re just below that so we didn’t qualify.”
So the task at hand now is establishing which projects will take priority going forward.
“We just have to figure out what’s the least painful thing to put off for a year or so,” he says.
The timeline to make these decisions will fall later this month.
“I have to adjust projects,” says Fontecchio. “That’s what we have to do.”
Outagamie County appears to have a better outlook, as County Executive Tom Nelson says summer projects shouldn’t be impacted.
Nelson claims their county didn’t see as much flooding damage as did neighboring counties.
While Dean Steingraber, Outagamie County Highway Commissioner, says by the end of February the department was at about 75% of its budget for the rest of the year.
