And though its been said, many times, many ways…it’s not Merry Christmas, but rather, the Alachua County Commission shirking their responsibility to maintain our county roadways. On more than one occasion, I’ve heard residents from all over the county express their concern regarding the nearly $500 million back log of needed road repairs and the potential safety risks to our citizens. Commissioners, however, continue to ignore this growing financial behemoth. Closing your eyes real tight, sticking your fingers in your ears while making obnoxious noises will not make this problem go away.
There will come a time, in the near future, where the citizens of Alachua County will be asked to approve a surtax and you’ll be left with a decision to make. It would be worth the time to pause and consider a few questions:
- Why has the road maintenance back log grown to nearly half of a billion dollars? Lack of oversight? Neglect?
- As one of the highest taxed counties in the state, are we getting our money’s worth?
- In our current economic state, are the County Commissioners tightening the belt of county government?
- Can we trust the current commissioners with more of our tax dollars?
It’s my opinion that the County Commission has done little to reduce the size or scope of county government during these most difficult of economic times and they are not trustworthy stewards with the tax dollars given to their care. As one of the highest taxed counties in the state, we should expect our elected representatives on the County Commission to provide the citizens with the most value possible for every tax dollar.
I have little confidence that our elected officials, on their own, would begin to take on the task of implementing a road projects plan to repair our deteriorating thoroughfares without citizen pressure. So, I would ask you to consider voting no to any new surtax that is not solely and specifically allocated for the repair of our county roads. We need safer roadways in Alachua County. And we have to insist that our concerns, not take a back seat to their pet projects.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
Jon Doles 
My parents were down in early February from NC. My dad mentioned to me that Gainesville has the worst roads he has ever seen. He was surprised how many were in need of repair.
With such a large back log, we have to wonder if this was purposeful neglect or whether we just have incompetence running rampant on the Board of County Commissioners. Either way, it’s completely unacceptable.
You make some excellent points on this subject. What are they doing with our tax dollars? If we are so highly taxed, surely we can fix the roads and keep some of the projects that enrich our lives.
Half of a “Billion” dollars is a very deep hole. Ultimately, the tax payers will have to approve a surtax to help make up for the poor stewardship of our tax dollars. And I think a sales tax would be the best way to fund the road back log projects as it would have everyone that uses the roadways, whether residents or visitors to our area, contributing to the fund. At this point, I would reiterate, that any new county sales tax, should be used exclusively for road maintenance. There is plenty of room for projects that enrich the lives of our county residents, but the commissioners must take care of their sworn obligations. We the citizens must hold them accountable.