On December 31, 2008, Coos County announced plans to significantly reorganize the work performed by its Road Department, and it notified 22 of 39 current employees in the Road Department that their positions would be eliminated, effective January 20, 2009. For the past 10 years, and projected intothe foreseeable future, the County’s share of gas tax revenues has gradually decreased, while costs such as fuel, labor, equipment, and asphalt have dramatically increased. The reason for the restructuring is to increase efficiency, reduce costs, enable elimination or replacement of old equipment that is expensive to maintain, and provide sufficient money to be used as match for grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Highway Administration. Coos County has no plans to replace any of the day to day work performed by the Road Department with private contractors. “The decision to restructure the Road Department has been years in the making. For the citizens of Coos County, it is best to focus on the essentials of the Road Department; providing road services for the safety of the public, and this restructuring will help us meet those needs,” said County Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean. In order to be prepared for the next fiscal year, it is necessary to begin the restructuring plan now. Delaying this reorganization would cost the County hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Coos County will continue to provide essential road maintenance services and respond to emergency situations during storms. The County expects that, in retaining essential functions and services and restructuring into a more efficient system, the County can continue to meet the vital needs of the public in a climate of ever-shrinking revenues. Contact Kevin Stufflebean