Hopkins County Commissioners Court discussed a measure which would allow additional funds to be designated for much-needed road repairs, Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom said Tuesday.
The commissioners court, during a work session this week, discussed the possibility of declaring a county emergency based on September and October flooding, which caused significant damage to county roads.
Newsom explained declaring a county emergency is different from the previous disaster declarations, which allow the county to apply for FEMA and Community Development Block Grant funding.
A county disaster declaration would allow the commissioners court to amend the current budget to put extra funding into the county road materials budget. The total amount would be divided equally among the four precincts for use on roads.
“We had a good financial year. This would be apportioning money we do not need to maintain services into roads this summer. We would start work in April,” Newsom said.
The proposal for a disaster declaration is expected to be on the agenda for Monday’s court meeting, the judge said.
