By Andrew Edwards
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
One of the more widely known topics within the Elmore County Commission budget is its continuation of County Rebuild Alabama Funded and Federal Aid Exchange Funded projects that total at roughly $1.7M.
Within these projects is the Redland Road and Roundabout project. Beginning on Thursday, August 12, 2021, construction work will begin on the roundabout at the intersection of Redland Road and Firetower/Dozier Road. The intersection will transition to an all-way stop condition by installing new stop signs on both approaches of Redland Road to Firetower/Dozier Road.
This project is funded with Highway Safety Improvement Program Funds and is expected to take approximately six months to complete.
“This roundabout hopes to eliminate T-bone type crashes that are currently common at that location. It’s also cost effective, will improve traffic, and is simply safer for the residents of Elmore County according to ,” Elmore County Chief Operations Officer Beyer said.
In other business before the Elmore County Commission this week:
Rep. Todd Smith of Schneider Electric recognized the Elmore County Commission on Monday afternoon for their $1 M milestone in energy savings for county owned buildings such as the county jail and historic courthouse.
Improvement projects totaling up to $4.4 M started back in 2017, and included upgrades to the buildings HVAC systems and windows. Projects also included new strategies for water usage and the installation of LED lighting – all while maintaining the historic look of each individual building.
“Those who were in this building 10 or so years ago would definitely be able tell the difference in comfort level now, while still recognizing the historic nature of the buildings. We appreciate that and the preservation of history, which is very important to us here in Elmore County,” said District 3 Commissioner and Chairman Troy Stubbs.
Richie Beyer says that the $4.4M invested into improvements will be paid off in time from the energy savings.
The commission also highlighted several aspects of the 2022 fiscal year budget – including the continuation of waivers for online fees and credit card processing fees to encourage citizens to use online services. Those online services include dealings such as tag renewals and the purchasing of business licenses.
“People have started to realize how convenient it is to do these types of things online. We hope that people will continue to use those online services for the business that they would normally do here in person. We believe it will alleviate traffic from the courthouse and expedite things for the citizens,” Stubbs said.
The step was in response to the Covid pandemic, and was originally enacted back in April of 2020.
The budget also continues the county’s 25% allocation of SSUT funds (or online sales tax) to the Elmore County Board of Education and Tallassee City School systems.
“Our county led the pack, and is one of the only counties that is allocating 25% of our SSUT funds to the board of education,” Stubbs said.
Of that 25%, 90% will be given to the Elmore County Board of Education and 10% will be given to Tallassee City Schools. The amount of funds distributed between both BoE’s totals to roughly $300,000.
“The continued allocation allows for our BoE’s to be flexible and to do a number of things in and out of the classroom,” Beyer said.
Those things can include extra school supplies, more funding for extracurricular activities and even improvements to structures.
The budget also includes the CDBG storage facility design costs estimated at $1.4M. The facility will be used as a hub for potential future pandemics and will store first responder equipment.
The full FY 2022 Budget Highlights can be viewed below:
- FY 22 Budget Expenditures totals slightly over $32M
- Includes merit raises for employees and potential increase in health insurance premiums which is absorbed by county rather than passed along to the employees
- Accounts for a $50 K allocation to the Elmore County Firefighters Association to cover annual worker’s compensation and reporting software costs along with a one-time addition of $7,000 to match a grant for PPE supplies
- Continues 25% allocation of SSUT to the ECBOE and Tallassee City School systems
- Includes 2 additional jail staff for Sheriff’s department
- Creates 3 new operator positions for public works to assist with road and bridge workload
- Continues waivers of online fees and credit card processing fees for citizens to continue to encourage the use of online services
- Incorporates circuit clerk requests two additional slots to assist with absentee ballots during election cycle
- Creation of new facility position to assist with vertical projects quality of life projects, and ARP investments
- Includes reclassifications and job description modifications to accurately reflect duties of public works, probate, law enforcement and operations staff
- Continues implementation of County Rebuild Alabama Funded and Federal Aid Exchange projects at close to $1.7 M in total projects
- Includes CDBG-CV Storage Facility final design costs and construction costs estimated at $1.4 M with design fees close to $100K, $50K Site Prep, CARPDC Admin Fee of $50K and construction funded with combination of CDBG-CV (600K) and remainder ARP funds
- Accounts for project matches and project costs for one-time projects and large projects. Projects include roof replacement at public works shop; freezer cooler in jail, repairs to the jail tunnel, and replacement of jail air handlers and master electrical switch. Last two projects could be potential ARP expenditures. One-time project costs total slightly over $2M.
