For the upcoming fiscal year, Lincoln County will face a decrease of more than $500,000 in state funding from last year.

While there are many reasons, some of it stems from a decrease fuel tax income. As vehicles become more economically efficient with better gas mileage, funds to maintain Mississippi’s roads diminish.

The Office of State Aid Road Construction administers Mississippi’s State Aid Road Program to assist Mississippi’s 82 counties in the construction and maintenance of secondary, non-state owned roads and bridges. State Aid also administers the Local System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program for the repair or replacement of the most needy bridges in Mississippi, as well as administering special projects funded through the Federal Highway Administration and the Mississippi Development Authority, according to the State Aid Office’s website.

The State Aid Road Program functions in the same way as The Federal Highway Trust Fund, which is funded from federal taxes on motor vehicle fuels and is the source for federal spending on highways, roads, bridges and transit. Like the FHWA, the Mississippi Department of Transportation faces issues raising state highways funds from state fuel taxes. From 2007 to 2011, the federal government provided $1.27 for road improvements in Mississippi for every one-dollar paid by state in federal motor fuel fees, accounting for 51 percent of state spending.

Mississippi’s state gas tax is a flat tax currently resting at 18.4 cents per gallon. Contrary to popular belief, the price of gas per gallon has no bearing on taxes rendered, as the state receives 18.4 CPG whether gas is $2, $3 or $4 at the pump. As cars get better gas mileage and people buy less gas, the state receives less revenue, adding to the deficit facing Mississippi’s funds.

In the 2015 fiscal year, one-time funding for roads and bridge projects in cities and counties was given to states to bridge the gap until there is a long-range funding plan, according to Lincoln County engineer Ryan Holmes. Mississippi Legislature gave $32 million to the Office of State Aid Road Construction to be spent on the state aid system by formula amongst counties to help them catch up with transit project needs, Holmes said.

Lincoln County’s share of that is approximately $578,000 – money that is funding three projects currently in the works, Holmes said.

Holmes said their hope was that the $32 million, and thus $578,000 for Lincoln County, would be authorized again for the 2016 fiscal year. It would have helped offset fuel tax-induced revenue decreases, but that is unfortunately not the case.

“We’ve got so many deficient bridges and roads, [that money was to] help us catch up with our infrastructure needs,” Holmes said. “2016 may be the year for long-term transit infrastructure funding, and that’s what we’re seeking. A long-term plan to address our issues.”