NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
85.16 (1),
86.31 (6) and
227.11 (2), Stats., the Department of Transportation will hold public hearings at the following locations to consider the creation of Chapter
Trans 206, relating to the local roads improvement program.
Hearing Information
Monday, July 20, 2009 — 1:00 PM
Department of Transportation
Hill Farms State Transportation Building
4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 144-B
Madison, WI
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 — 12:00 Noon
North Central Technical College
1000 W. Campus Drive, Main Building
Room E101
Wausau, WI
An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available on request for this hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter at least 10 days prior to the hearing.
Parking for persons with disabilities and an accessible entrance are available.
Copies of Proposed Rule
A copy of the proposed rule may be obtained upon request from Lori Richter, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Railroads & Harbors, Room 951, P. O. Box 7913, Madison, WI 53707-7913. You may also contact Lori by phone at (608) 266-0254 or via e-mail:
lori.richter@dot.state.wi.us.
Agency Contact Person and Submission of Written Comments
The public record on this proposed rule making will be held open until August 5, 2009, to permit the submission of comments in lieu of public hearing testimony or comments supplementing testimony offered at either hearing. Any such comments should be submitted to:
Lori Richter, Department of Transportation
Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Railroads & Harbors
Room 951
P. O. Box 7913
Madison, WI 53707-7913.
Phone: (608) 266-0254
Analysis Prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Statutes interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of agency authority
Related statute or rule
Plain language analysis
1997 Wis. Act 27, s.
86.31 (3g), Stats., incorporates the county highway improvement discretionary program (CHIP-D) for high cost county highway projects of at least $250,000 in eligible total project costs. This proposed rule making creates procedures and criteria for the selection of projects.
1999 Wis. Act 9, s.
86.31 (3r), Stats., created a new Municipal Street Improvement Discretionary Program (MSIP-D) to fund a competitive, municipal street improvement program similar to the existing discretionary programs for high-cost town roads and county highways. It specified that eligible projects must have a total estimated cost of at least $250,000. This proposed rule making creates procedures and criteria for the selection of projects.
This proposed rule making amends s.
Trans 206.03 (14) to indicate that it applies to recipients of entitlement projects only; it does not apply to recipients of CHIP-D, TRIP-D or MSIP-D projects.
1999 Wis. Act 9 requires the Department to amend ch.
Trans 206, relating to the Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP), to incorporate the changes set forth in the Act regarding the provisions for projects that can be done by county highway departments and the solicitation and awarding of bids for town projects.
1999 Wis. Act 9 eliminates the provisions set forth in s.
86.31 (2) (d) 1.,
2. and
3., Stats., that restrict the amount of work on county trunk highways that may be done by county highway departments under the county highway improvement program (CHIP) and CHIP-D.
1999 Wis. Act 9 provides that county highway departments may do work under the basic county highway improvement program or the discretionary county highway improvement discretionary program if they demonstrate that doing so will be cost-effective, provided that each county highway department uses competitive bidding for the funds provided by the state under the CHIP and the CHIP-D programs.
The Act eliminates the provision that requires each county highway improvement district committee to ensure compliance with the provisions related to the amount of work that may be done by county highway departments and, instead, requires these committees to: (1) review each project proposed by a county highway department and to determine if it would be cost-effective for the county highway department to perform the work; and (2) to approve the proposed project prior to its being performed by the county highway department.
The Act modifies the membership of each county highway improvement district committee to specify that it shall be composed of the highway commissioners from each county in the Wisconsin County Highway Association district.
The Act requires DOT to amend the existing rule to include: (a) criteria for determining whether a project can be done cost-effectively by county highway departments; and (b) procedures for departmental review of disputes relating to whether proposed work by a county highway department is cost-effective.
The Act eliminates the provision in s.
86.31 (2) (b), Stats., that allows towns to contract with counties to perform work under the town road improvement program and the town road improvement discretionary programs (TRIP and TRIP-D) if the town does not receive a responsible bid on a project. Instead, the Department must amend ch.
Trans 206 to include criteria and procedures for determining when a contract for a project under the TRIP and TRIP-D programs may be awarded to a county. The criteria must include: (a) a requirement that a written and sealed estimate of the cost of the improvement that includes the source of the estimate be prepared prior to the time set for the opening of bids for the improvement and not be opened until after the opening of all bids; (b) a requirement that all bids may be rejected and the contract awarded to a county for the improvement if the lowest bid exceeds the cost estimate by at least 10% and the town board notifies the lowest two bidders or, if only one bid was received, the single bidder, to provide information on the accuracy of the cost estimate; (c) a requirement that the amount of the contract with a county for the improvement be at least 10% below the lowest bid received for the improvement; and (d) a provision that permits re-bidding if the amount of the proposed contract with a county for the improvement is less than 10% below the lowest bid received for the improvement.
The proposed rule limits the number of times a project may be substituted under the LRIP program to one, requires county highway commissioners to review and maintain required documents for project approved within their counties, except for applications from cities or villages with populations of 20,000 or more. It also requires funds committed under the LRIP to be reimbursed within three biennia of when the funds were originally committed. It also requires that the number of projects that can be submitted in a given biennium for funding under TRIP and MSIP less than 20,000 in population is not to exceed one half of the number of towns or eligible cities or villages.
Comparison with federal regulations
This is a state program for local governments assisting in the improvement of deteriorating local highways, streets and roads. There are no existing or proposed federal regulations.
Comparison with rules in the following states
Michigan:
No similar program.
Minnesota:
Minnesota has a local roads program, but the State provides grants rather than reimbursement.
Illinois:
No similar program.
Iowa:
No similar program.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
This proposed rule implements statutory changes and clarifies program policies, procedures and requirements related to the Local Roads Improvement Program. The Department's implementation is the same as the Department applies to its other local programs under ch.
86, Stats.,
Miscellaneous Highway Provisions.
Analysis and supporting documentation used to determine effect on small businesses
This proposed rule pertains to a state program for local governments entering into a state municipal agreement with the Department for partial reimbursement of costs related to deteriorating local highways, streets and roads. The program does not provide any direct reimbursements or assess any fees to any small businesses.
Small Business Impact
The proposed rule will have no adverse impact on small businesses.
Fiscal Estimate
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on the liabilities of any county, city, village, town, school district, vocational, technical and adult education district, sewerage district, or federally-recognized tribes or bands.
Under
1997 Wis. Act 27, s.
86.31 (3g), Stats., the Department allocates $5,000,000 annually, beginning in fiscal year 2001-02, to fund county highway improvement projects with total eligible costs of $250,000 or more from the discretionary LRIP appropriation. This funding is in addition to the allocation of funds available to counties through the formula generated entitlement program.
Under
1999 Wis. Act 9, s.
86.31 (3r), Stats., the Department allocates $1,000,000 annually, beginning in fiscal year 2001-02, to fund municipal street improvement projects with total eligible costs of $250,000 or more from the discretionary LRIP appropriation. This funding is in addition to the allocation of funds available to cities and villages through the formula generated entitlement program.
The proposed rule defines and incorporates the sunset on funds policy recommended by the LRIP study group. This policy is intended to ensure the timely use of program funds, within three biennia of programming.
The proposed rule also defines and incorporates the program review process recommended by the LRIP study group. The process includes a mechanism for assessing sanctions and provides the community with an opportunity for appeal.
The proposed rule updates language related to engineering certification to be consistent with statutory language.
The proposed rule updates administrative costs to be consistent with administrative policy and clarifies several issues in the current rule relating to the definition of eligible project and utilities.
The proposed rule clarifies the role of the county highway commissioner, detailing the responsibility for the commissioner to ensure adherence with statutory law and program rules and required recordkeeping. It requires the commissioner to submit entitlement applications totaling no more than one-half the available funds in any given year.
Anticipated costs incurred by private sector
The Department estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on private sector revenues or liabilities.
