County trims and re-purposes wheel-tax and 1176 highway lines to avoid over-advertisement

Commissioners discovered the surtax ("wheel tax") accounts were populated with items that restricted-state guidance does not permit, such as office supplies and utilities. Staff recommended zeroing those lines and keeping only professional services and general road repair in the surtax account; commissioners directed restoring general road repair to about $1.6 million and moving other operating lines back to motor-vehicle/highway funds (1176).

The council also acknowledged the 1176 account was approximately $300,000 over-advertised after preliminary edits. To remain under advertised limits and avoid an unbalanced budget, commissioners agreed to cut $50,000 from gas/oil/lubricants and to re-evaluate in March after expected reimbursement distributions from state programs arrive.