ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — County officials spoke of improving roads, bridges, and paving mile after mile of dirt road at a meeting in Robertsdale April 30. All that is needed is voter approval of a four-mill “ad valorem” tax (called PAYGO) on June 3, officials said at a lightly attended meeting April 30 at the Robertsdale Central Annex on Palmer Street.

One mill is 1/10 of a cent, and according to County administrator Michael Thompson and County Commissioner Wayne Gruenloh, an “average” owner-occupied home valued at $200,000 will see taxes increase about 80.00 per year, or $6.67 per month. The tax will be added for five years, after which, county officials will have to receive voter approval for a continuation of the project.

Still, Joann and Carl Kicher of Foley were worried.

“We came to find out what this is all about,” said Joann before the meeting. “This affects property taxes and out monthly payments. I thought the five cent gas tax was to go to pay for roads.”

“I think about people who have a little, no a whole lot hanging on, trying to make payments,” said Carl.

That four mill tax increase will pay for a number of road improvements and repairs, outlined on a Web site, payasyougo.co.baldwin.al.us. If the plan is not approved, both Thompson and Gruenloh warned, the county will have to use existing resources, and the projects will not happen.

In Robertsdale, the new tax will cover the replacement of a bridge on College Avenue over Rock Creek and the replacement of the topmost layer, the “wearing layer” of about eight miles of road.

Loxley will see the “resurfacing” of 5.6 miles of road, which involves repaving of existing roads. The work may also involve “ … patching, leveling, milling, resurfacing of the existing width of paved road, minor drainage improvements, traffic control installation, utility reallocations, intersection improvements, right-of-way and/or drainage acquisitions and any other work necessary for the completion of the project,” according to a Baldwin County Web site. Each community was invited to present projects for the PAYGO program.

Silverhill will see many roads repaved, and the grading and paving of Eighth Avenue between Second Avenue and North Avenue.

Summerdale will see 1.8 miles of “wearing layer” replaced.

But, if voters do not approve the ad valorem tax, the county will be in a bind, says Thompson.

“We have more citizens coming to this county, and we need more roads. As we grow, we have more rooftops, driveways, and and increased need for drainage. At the same time the costs of asphalt, oil and fuel is increasing. I believe this is a good, cost-effective proposal,” Thompson said.

When county and local officials realized there was not enough money to pay for all the needs, they turned to legislators in Birmingham, Gruenloh said.

“I feel like I have one foot in the present and one in the future,” Gruenloh said. “The county saw the need to update a new street plan for the next 10 years, and we quickly realized that we haven’t enough dollars.”

The growth Baldwin County has seen, especially after Hurricane Frederick, has fueled the need for improvements, he said.

Gruenloh said legislators considered an additional lodging tax, an increase to the sales tax and increasing the cost of licensing motor vehicles, but rejected them for various reasons.

“Then someone asked if we considered a PAYGO program like the one on Mobile,” Gruenloh said. “It had been very successful for them.”

“We think what we have is superior to what Mobile has,” said Thompson.

The plan, which increases property taxes for all classes of property, Gruenloh says, means that taxpayers know exactly what and where their money is to be spent. The taxes remain in Baldwin County, and must be spent on a particular list of improvements. The Alabama Legislature approved the plan last year in Act Number 2007-353.

“Remember,” said Gruenloh, “the county commission can’t initiate taxation.”

“We are satisfied that the Commission wanted to do right with the bill said Dick Sute of Bellforest. Sute is a member of “Better Roads for Baldwin County,” a group that is advocating for improved roadways. Their Web site is at betterbaldwin.com.

“When I was a kid, I remember seeing convicts building roads in Baldwin,” said Sute.

Those days are over, said Gruenloh, But, he added that Baldwin County still manages its resources carefully.

“We manage our roads on less than half of the Mobile county budget. We’re pretty efficient.”

Projects, Thompson said were developed by going to each municipality and asking what they wanted.

While Baldwin County gets 5 cents-per-gallon of gas in a special tax, revenue from that source has been declining with higher gas prices keeping people at home, Thompson said.

“People are becoming more efficient, watching how they are driving,” Thompson said.

While bonds seems attractive, the debt service on existing bonds has been taking a good chunk of revenue, and Thompson can see a time, like any household that contracted too much debt, when satisfying debt would consume all available income.

“Most of the time, Baldwin County is on the short end of the stick,” Thompson said of the usual process of state funds distribution. “This however is a very detailed process, and the money is staying right here.”

While most of the money will go to repair existing roads,

some projects are meant to “ … improve connectivity and give citizens new ways to get around the county,” said Thompson.

This new connectivity, especially improved north-south routes connecting to I-10 will be useful should a hurricane threaten, says Thompson.