Illmo road district to vote on dissolving

Some voters and taxpayers in the Old Illmo Special Road District are unhappy with their roads -- so unhappy they are trying to disband the district and put the roads under the jurisdiction of Scott County.

Residents in the district, which is on the boundaries of Scott City and extends into the city limits, have gathered enough signatures on a petition to force the measure onto the April 5 ballot.

To get on the ballot, a petition has to have at least 50 valid signatures from people in the affected district, which contains about 23 miles of roads, according to Scott County estimates. Residents obtained more than 75 valid signatures to put the measure on the ballot last week.

"Some people seem to be dissatisfied with the way things are going with Illmo Special," said Scott County Commissioner Jamie Burger. "Now, as far as we're concerned we're completely unbiased. We have no opinion one way or the other."

The district's tax rate is the same as the Scott County road and bridge tax rate, Burger said. If the measure passes, residents will see no additional cost and the taxes will go to the county to pay for district upkeep.

To pass, the measure needs a simple majority of voters. Scott City Mayor Tim Porch, who lives in the road district, signed the petition to get the measure on the ballot. He's unhappy with the district because it gets about 80 percent of its funding from Scott City residents, he said, but is unwilling to work with the city on road projects.

The district can spend up to 25 percent of its budget on Scott City roads, Porch said, but has failed to commit funds on numerous projects.

"As far as I'm concerned we need to let Scott County handle the problems," Porch said. "If we're putting in 80 percent of that budget and all we can ask for is 25 percent, then asking is not out of line."

There are many county roads outside of Scott City that need work, said Porch, and the city doesn't want to impede work on those roads. He also acknowledged that the district has some trouble funding upkeep for all of its roads. Something still needs to be done, he said.

Burger and Presiding Commissioner Martin Priggell said manpower for handling the extra workload shouldn't be a problem because a staff member will soon be returning to work after military duty in Iraq. The county's highway department has been shorthanded since his departure.

Commissioners couldn't comment on the road district's current budget, and calls to the road district went unanswered Monday afternoon.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182