Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By the end of this month, an estimated $506,787 in net wheel tax revenues will have been handed to the Claiborne Road Department during the first 3 quarters of Fiscal Year 2019-20. By county mandate, those funds must be divided only in three ways – 60 percent going to tar/chip and 40 percent to asphalt roadways. The road department is also allocated $200,000 each year for equipment. Any portion of that amount not used for equipment will be earmarked for additional asphalt or tar/chip roadwork.

Ronnie Pittman, superintendent of the Claiborne Road Department, has submitted his third quarter report. The document shows that some $105,087 in wheel tax revenues has been used to cover lease agreements and other costs for mowers, a dump truck and two graders.

For instance, there is a cost of $46,560 going to a buy-out lease on one Caterpillar grader. Lease payments running from July to January on a second grader cost the department $20,117.23.

As for road repairs, Pittman and his crew was able to work a total 20.5 miles of roadway using tar/chip at a cost of $310,097.01 in wheel tax revenues. It costs the department $15,125.68 per mile to repair roadways with this method.

Residents living along a portion of Snake Hollow Road, inside the 4th district, saw some 3 miles of roadway repairs. Lower Caney Valley, also in the 4th district, had 2.8 miles of its surface repaired.

Leatherwood Hollow, located inside district 2, was allocated funds to repair 3.7 miles of its roadway.

Little Valley, Piney Grove, Seals Chapel, Davis Road, Junior Hurst Lane, Bear Creek and Pearman Roads have also benefited from the wheel tax during the last 3 quarters.

Pittman listed on his report springtime plans to asphalt certain roads. It looks like the Road Department will be concentrating its efforts in the 2nd and 3rd districts with a total 2 miles of paving on Chumley, Straight Creek Church and Hunsucker Roads.

At last year’s prices, Pittman estimates it will cost $77,867.62 to fix those two miles of roadway.

So far, $415,184.24 in wheel tax revenue has been distributed from the estimated $703,000 set by the budget committee.

The Claiborne Trustee’s Office receives a percentage of the wheel tax, as commission. So far, the Trustee has received $5,119.06 from the estimated $511,906.43 in total wheel tax collected during the first 3 quarters of the fiscal year.