Current through February 26, 2024
(1) ENTITLEMENT. The local roads improvement
program is an annual entitlement program for improvements to local roads.
Biennially, an entitlement shall be made to each county, each CMSIC and CTRIC
and to each city or village whose population is 20,000 or more. Entitlements to
the recipient shall be determined as follows:
(a) Municipal street improvement for each
CMSIC and for each city or village with a population of 20,000 or more: 50% of
each county's, city's or village's, with a population of 20,000 or more,
proportionate share of total miles of all city or village streets in the state
and 50% of each county's, city's or village's, with a population of 20,000 or
more, proportionate share of the total population of all cities and villages in
the state.
(b) County highway
improvement shall be 60% of each county's proportionate share of the state
population and 40% of each county's proportionate share of total county trunk
miles of all county trunk miles in the state; except no county's entitlement
shall be less than one half of one percent (0.5%) of the total funds allocated
to the counties under this chapter.
(c) Town road improvement shall be on each
county's proportionate share of town road miles to all town road miles in the
state.
(2) OPTION TO
ACCUMULATE ENTITLEMENT UNTIL THE SECOND YEAR OF THE BIENNIUM. To permit maximum
flexibility in the use of entitlements and use all entitlements in the biennium
appropriated, a recipient may:
(a) Use the
entitlement in the state fiscal year it is available.
(b) Accrue the annual entitlement until the
second year of the state biennium rather than using it in the year it is
available.
(c) Request approval, on
the LRIP project application form, from the department to use the entire
biennial entitlement in the first year of the biennium.
(3) COMMITMENT OF ENTITLEMENT.
(a) No later than November 1 of each
odd-numbered year, each recipient shall complete the LRIP project application
form and send it to the appropriate county highway commissioner.
(b) No later than January 15 of each
even-numbered year, the appropriate county highway commissioner shall send the
department a copy of each LRIP project application submitted by each recipient
in the county.
(c) Upon the
approval of each LRIP project application by the department, the estimated cost
of the project listed on the LRIP project application form shall be considered
committed, and entitlement funds shall be reserved for the political
subdivision with an approved LRIP project. A project agreement for each LRIP
project shall be executed and received by the department no later than April 1
of the next odd-numbered year. If an executed project agreement is not received
by April 1 of the next odd-numbered year, the commitment of state funds shall
be withdrawn.
(4)
UNCOMMITTED LRIP ENTITLEMENTS.
(a) Any
entitlements not committed by the recipient by November 1 of each odd-numbered
year shall be available for use by other recipients.
(b) The first priority for uncommitted
entitlements shall be for use by other recipients within the same county. The
county highway commissioner of that county is responsible for determining if
the uncommitted entitlement can be used within the county and which recipient
will receive it.
(c) The second
priority for any uncommitted entitlement that cannot be used within the county
shall be for use within the county highway improvement program district. The
county highway improvement district committee shall be responsible for
determining if uncommitted entitlement can be used within the district and
which recipient will receive it.
(d) On July 1 of each odd-numbered year, all
uncommitted entitlements from the previous biennium shall be added to the LRIP
appropriation for the current biennium and redistributed according to the
distribution formula in s. Trans 206.03(1).
(5) PAYMENT OF PROJECT COSTS.
(a) The local roads improvement program is a
reimbursement program. The political subdivision where the work is performed
shall be responsible for payment of project costs. At the completion of the
project, the political subdivision may apply to the department of
transportation for reimbursement of eligible costs in accordance with the
project agreement. Application for reimbursement shall be on forms prescribed
by the department.
(b) If a project
is the result of an agreement among more than one recipient, the project
agreement shall identify one political subdivision as responsible for initial
funding of the project and to whom the state shall reimburse eligible
costs.
(6) ELIGIBLE
PROJECTS.
(a) Any improvement to the county
trunk, town road or city or village street system shall be eligible for funding
under this chapter provided the political subdivision has complied with the
provisions of this chapter.
(b) The
county, CTRIC or CMSIC, cities or villages with populations of 20,000 or more,
or towns under the TRID, may enter into agreements with counties, other county
MSI or TRI committees, other cities or villages with populations of 20,000 or
more or towns under the TRID to participate in projects that meet the standards
of the local roads improvement program.
(7) DUTIES OF THE COUNTY HIGHWAY
COMMISSIONER. The county highway commissioner shall perform the following:
(a) Serve as the administrative contact
between the department and all recipients in the county.
(b) No later than January 15 of each
even-numbered year, report to the secretary or the secretary's designee, on the
form in the manner prescribed by the department, the list of projects to be
developed or constructed under the CHI, TRI, TRID and MSI components of the
LRIP in the current state biennium.
(c) Determine if uncommitted entitlements of
a recipient in the county can be used by another recipient within the
county.
(8)
REIMBURSEMENT OF COUNTIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS RELATED TO THE CMSIC AND THE
CTRIC.
(a) Counties shall be reimbursed for
the costs of the administrative services provided by the county highway
department to that CTRIC and CMSIC.
(b) For the years 1992 through 1995 of the
local roads improvement program, 5% of each county's MSI entitlement for cities
and villages with a population of less than 20,000 and 5% of each county's TRI
entitlement shall be distributed to the county treasurer as reimbursement for
the administrative costs of the MSI and TRI.
(c) Beginning with 1996, the percentage of
each county's MSI entitlement for cities and villages with a population of less
than 20,000 and county's TRI entitlement to be distributed to the county for
administrative costs related to the MSI and TRI shall be reviewed with the
county highway commissioner and the chairpersons of the county TRI and the MSI
committees to determine an appropriate level of reimbursement. The county
highway commissioner shall notify the department what percent level of
reimbursement was selected as a result of the review. Until such notification
is received, the level of reimbursement shall continue at 5%.
(9) ELIGIBLE LRIP PROJECT COSTS.
Feasibility studies, design, right-of-way acquisition, any item which is an
integral part of street and road construction, and related engineering costs
are eligible costs. New installations or alterations of sanitary sewers and
connections, water, gas, electric, telephone, police or fire alarm facilities,
parking meters, street signs and similar utilities are not eligible costs. The
cost to develop each county, municipality or town's improvement plan is not an
eligible cost.
(10) CONTRACT
ADMINISTRATION.
(a) The political subdivision
with the eligible project shall be responsible for contract administration of
the project. If an eligible project is located in more than one political
subdivision, the project agreement shall specify the political subdivision
responsible for contract administration.
(b) The design and construction of all
eligible projects with eligible costs totaling more than $50,000 under this
chapter shall be certified by a registered professional engineer.
(11) FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION.
(a) The state shall provide a maximum of 50%
of the total eligible project cost up to the cost ceiling specified in the
project agreement. The remainder of the cost shall be provided by the political
subdivision where the work is performed.
(b) The political subdivision's share may be
in the form of cash, engineering or right of way.
(c) No entitlement shall be used as the local
match for federal aid projects.
(d)
No federal aid funds shall be used as the local match for an eligible
project.
(12) PROJECT
AGREEMENT.
(a) Each eligible project which is
funded under this chapter shall be the subject of a formal agreement between
the political subdivision and the department. The secretary or the secretary's
designee shall sign the project agreement for the department. The secretary or
the secretary designee's signature on the project agreement shall be the
official acceptance of the terms of the agreement. When the project agreement
is between the state and a county, the county executive or designee, or when
there is no office of county executive, the county board chairperson or
designee shall sign the project agreement for the county. When the project
agreement is between the state and a town, village or city, the chief executive
or designee of the political subdivision shall sign the project agreement for
the political subdivision.
(b) Each
project agreement must be signed by the department no later than April 1 of
each odd-numbered year.
(c) The
project agreement shall include, but is not limited to, the following items of
information:
1. Name of the signatory
political subdivision or, in the case of a joint project, the project agreement
shall include the names of all the political subdivisions and county MSI or TRI
committees participating in the project.
2. Statement of need for the
project.
3. Description of the
proposed work as approved by the CTRIC, STRIDC or CMSIC where appropriate and
the intended construction year.
4.
Cost estimate of the work.
5.
Description of the cost participation of each party to the agreement, including
the amount of the cost ceiling for preliminary engineering, real estate
acquisition and construction.
6.
Description of all special provisions and considerations that apply to the
proposed project.
7. Signed
statement by the county executive or designee, or when there is no office of
county executive, the county board chairperson or designee, town, city or
village's chief executive or designee certifying that the work will be done in
accordance with all federal, state and local laws, rules, ordinances and
standards.
8. A statement that the
department will only participate in eligible construction projects which are
actually constructed to the appropriate standards described in this chapter.
The entire cost of construction projects not constructed, or not constructed to
standards, is the responsibility of the political subdivision.
9. A statement that the political subdivision
with the eligible project assumes all responsibility for complying with all
germane environmental requirements for the improvement, and certifies that an
environmental analysis was completed and that all applicable environmental laws
were followed.
(13) EXCEPTION TO STANDARDS.
(a) The secretary or the secretary's designee
may authorize deviation from the standards in special cases in which strict
application of the standards is impractical and deviation is not contrary to
the public interest and safety, and in the case of eligible county projects is
not contrary to the intent of s.
84.01(9)
(b), Stats.
(b) Any deviation in the standards shall be
approved in writing by the secretary or the secretary's designee before any
reimbursement payments are made.
(14) PROJECT SUBSTITUTION. When a recipient
informs the department that an eligible project for which a CHI, TRI or MSI
project agreement has been executed cannot be built, that recipient shall have
the option of substituting another eligible project that can be constructed in
the same time period. The parties shall then void the original project
agreement and execute a new project agreement for the substitute project. This
subsection does not apply to recipients of TRID allocations.
(15) DUTIES OF DOT. The department shall
perform the following:
(a) Compute the annual
and biennial entitlement for each county, each CMSIC and CTRIC and for each
city or village with a population of 20,000 or more.
(b) Inform, by September 1 of each
odd-numbered year, each county, each CTRIC and CMSIC, and the chief executive
of each city or village with a population of 20,000 or more of their biennial
entitlement by state fiscal year for the current state biennium.
(c) Maintain a financial record of each
project agreement and any other information the department deems
necessary.
(d) Review a sufficient
number of projects to ensure that the program is functioning according to
applicable state laws and rules.
(e) Encumber state funds for all approved
project agreements.
(f) Prepare, by
June 30 of each odd-numbered year, a report listing all completed projects
under the local roads improvement program.
(g) Determine if proposed projects meet the
criteria of this chapter.