Montgomery Board of Commissioners Commit to Road Patches and a New Insurance Policy

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners voted to seek bids to repair Old River Road and to adopt a new health insurance policy during their monthly meeting on March 9.

Road quality has been a long standing concern in Montgomery County, with residents and commissioners citing Old River Road as the roadway with the most amount of issues in the county. Several large potholes have formed on the road, stemming from wear and tear caused by logging trucks and severe weather events such as Hurricane Helene.

“When we built the roads back in the 60s, we just graded up the road, leveled it off with dirt, sprayed out a little tar and [threw] some rocks on it,” said Commissioner Leland Adams.

According to Adams, the current poor condition of Montgomery County roads lies in their initial construction in the 1960s. However, completely resurfacing them would be an expensive venture, costing the county approximately $1 million per mile resurfaced.

The board instead considered using 2026 Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds to patch problem areas, which would cost approximately $800,000. According to County Manager Heather Scott, the county’s LMIG 2026 funds will total $489,394.72, with an extra $500,000 from Local Road Assistance (LRA) funds.

Commissioner Amie Vassey criticized patching only the problem areas, describing the approach as “a Band-Aid.”

“It will not be a long term solution,” said Vassey. “This will be a Band-Aid, and then we will need to commit funds in the future, in upcoming years to resurface the road.”

Ultimately, Commissioner Adams offered a motion to commit the LMIG funds towards patching Old River Road. The motion passed unanimously.

The board also considered the future of the county’s health insurance policy. Insurance Agent Josh Bean of Partners Benefit Group presented the Board with multiple options during the board’s monthly work session on March 5.

Under Montgomery County’s previous plan, the county contributed 95% towards employees’ plans. Bean advised against renewing the previous plan, though he did provide renewal options for the board to consider.

For the new plan, Commissioner Vassey asked Bean to provide options for lower contribution percentages in addition to potential renewal plans. Bean provided the Board with plans ranging as low as 50% contribution in intervals of five.

Adams offered a motion to adopt a policy featuring an $8,000 deductible with 75% contribution by the county, which passed with Vassey against.

In other action items, Commissioner Jimmy Sharpe offered a motion to commit $15,600 to the purchase of shipping containers for the construction of a new fire training center. The Board had previously approved the purchase of containers via an online auction, but the county lost the auction.

Vice-Chair Clarence Thomas offered a motion to allow County Manager Scott to move forward with the acquisition of two new motor graders for the road department, which passed unanimously.

The Board also reviewed the February 2026 cash bases financial report, delivered by County Manager Scott. According to the report, the county earned 40.1% of its projected revenue, while the county’s total expenditures totalled 16.4% of its budget of $6,048,403.89.

In individual expenditures, general government costs have totaled 12.5% of its budget of $1,427,297.14; judicial costs have totaled 22.5% of its budget of $592,769.75; public safety costs have totaled 14.3% of its budget of $2,004,320.55; public works costs have totaled 14.1% of its budget of $1,233,455.53; health and welfare costs have totaled 16.7% of its budget of $53,250; culture and recreation costs have totaled 23.2% of its budget of $123,815.36; housing and development costs have totaled 2.6% of its budget of $82,815; debt service costs have totaled 48.3% of its budget of $10,700 and other financing use costs have totaled 33.8% of its budget of $519,990.56.