What is the "C" Fund Program and how is it funded?
A. The "C" Fund Program is a long-established partnership between the 46 counties and the state Department of Transportation to fund improvements of state roads, county roads, city streets and other local transportation projects. The state reserves 2.66 cents per gallon of the state gasoline tax for "C" fund projects. These funds are distributed to each county based on a three-part formula. One-third of the money is allocated based on the ratio of the land area of the county to the land area of the state, another one third is based on the ratio of the county population to the state population, and the remaining one third is based on the rural road mileage in the county to the rural road mileage in the state. For fiscal year 2012-13, the state distributed $69 million.
How are "C" funds awarded?
A. By law, each county legislative delegation must appoint a County Transportation Committee with a fair representation from municipalities and unincorporated areas of the county. The CTC selects and approves projects to be funded by "C" funds.
Are there restrictions on how the money is used?
A. Counties must spend at least 25 percent of their "C" funds for construction, improvements and maintenance of infrastructure which is part of the state highway system. Committee members can allocate the remaining 75 percent on local road projects. Also, the committee can carry forward any uncommitted funds from one year into the next if the amount does not exceed 300 percent of the county's total apportionment for the most recent year.
How are local projects determined?
A. Each county committee develops procedures for accepting applications for eligible projects, ranking projects and determining which projects to fund.