Public Works details $60.5M water/sewer and $20.8M road special-district budgets

Jared Carter, Madera County director of public works, told the Board of Supervisors the county oversees roughly 118 road special districts and 33 water and sewer districts and presented each districtbudget for FY2026-27.

Carter said the water and sewer budgets (the department"blue book") total approximately $60.5 million in proposed expenditures, while the road maintenance budgets (the "orange book") total roughly $20.8 million. "Measure T has helped tremendously with the road special districts and helping us to be able to complete more work throughout those districts," Carter said, and he noted staff will develop specific project lists once the board approves the budget.

Carter also said the county worked with the state Division of Financial Assistance to qualify about seven districts for the state's technical assistance program, which moves project planning to the state and allows projects to advance with grant funds without requiring the county to front the money. "The big benefit for us is that it's not something that we have to come up with money to pay out ahead of time and then get reimbursed," Carter said.

A board member asked about MD21 and noted some roads in that district have very low Pavement Condition Index (PCI) ratings; staff replied that, combined with Measure T matching dollars, the county has about $800,000 available to match and that specific projects will be determined after budget approval. Carter said staff can meet individually with supervisors to review priorities and proposed projects.

Why this matters: special-district budgets fund maintenance and infrastructure for many residents outside the county incorporated cities, and qualifying districts for state technical assistance can accelerate projects that otherwise would require up-front local capital.

The presentation closed with no public comments. The board later adopted the countywide FY2026-27 budget (see separate article) that incorporates these special-district budgets.

Provenance: The presentation and related Q&A appear in the meeting transcript where Jared Carter introduced the special-district budgets and answered supervisors' questions.