Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1914-03-27
Bonding County
for Good Roads

is, what will the extra tax burden
be?
Let us try and solve the inner
workings of this problem and see if
it is meritous.
Lincoln county now raises by
general levy for road and bridge
purpose the sum of $50, 900, and
by special levy the sum of S35, 900.
making the sum total for road pur-
poses OF S65, 900 annual road tax.
You have expended at least
S26O.0O0 in the past five years
honestly endeavoring to secure
good roads. For this expenditure
you have five miles of good gra vel
and macadam roads. which on the
average have cost $4,000 per
mile. ! do not mean that all this
money was expended on the five
miles OF roads. but rather the
other money was so expended that
no permanent results are apparent.
In other words the money spent
year in and year out for anything
but permanent roads is money
wasted and could only be charged
to that ever growing account called
experience. Experience has proven
a costly teacher but should result
ia wisdom.
AT present yearly rate of ex-
penditure it will take $650,0O0 to
foot your good road bills for the
next ten years, and judging from
the system you have used in the
past. this expenditure will result in
l3 miles of road. You must admit
that there has been something
radically wrong with III, system in
vogue in the past. The time to
change is now before any more
money is wasted. Nearly every
county in the state has purchased
this same type of experience.
By your 3 mill levy you raise
under the present valuation $50. 900.
In ten years this would amount 10
100000. Under the bonding plan
your cost would be distributed is
follows First year
One-tenth of $3.50, 900 sink
ing fund yearly. 10 years. $4,000
Interest first year, 11,400
S3),400
So the first and heaviest ye r
your cost would aggregate only $4Ou
more than you are now spending
for road purposes through the
general levy. The interest would
decrease yearly to the amount of
81 .14O. so on ten year average
1t would cost approximately SIS. ZOO
per year less to bond than under
the present system. Aside from
this you can easily count on two
thirds of the $4,000 now annually
expended being wasted or misspent. /.
The idea of bonding is to do pc. =
manent work in the different dis
tricts of the county and to secure
keen competition on the different
contracts end to do all. work at a
minimum Gust. While it will c.st
you les, under the bonding system,
you will still have the benefit of
the road, through permanent i'm
proven ents. and be able to get
a dollars worth of road for every
dollar expended.
You who will most vigorously
oppose the county bonding must
candidly admit that under the pre-
sent system you are neither doing
work that counts nor saving
money by your present method.
Construct all new roads per-
manently. and repair the old roads
in a permanent manner 60 that
every Spring will not find the same
old ruts and impossible hills.
The proposition before you is,
shall you expend less morey and
expend 1t at one time. and receive
at least five times the amount of
work for your money. and have the
enjoyment Of your roads in the
meantime. or shall we continually
dribble away our money and never
ACCOMPLISH anything worth while.
10 be continued. B. w. Jones.