Agency respondents thumbnail:

70 percent of the responding agencies were county (36 percent) or city/municipality (34 percent). State agencies made up 27 percent of the survey; Respondent’s job function: Almost half (49 percent) of the respondents described their jobs as “director/management/superintendent.” “engineering” was the description used by 27 percent of the survey respondents and “supervisor/foreman” were 12 percent.

Contractor respondents thumbnail:

“Owner/president” is the title of 69 percent of the respondents, with 15 percent claiming “executive;” 84 percent of respondent companies describe themselves as “contractor” and 17 percent and “contractor and producer;” The average annual contract or sales volume of the respondent’s firms is $14 million, with 13 percent “more than 50 million;” More than half (55 percent) say they are both contract and subcontractor, 29 percent are solely contractors and 15 percent subcontractors; Road construction is the most common work done by respondent companies (63 percent), with 39 percent working in paving, 35 percent in “other public works construction, 27 percent in pavement maintenance, 20 percent in material production, 19 percent in “bridge construction/maintenance/repair, and 15 percent in “traffic and safety.”

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Current fiscal year data indicates that agencies saw budget increases (17 percent) down from the last fiscal year (23 percent). Most are forecasting their next fiscal year budgets to remain flat or about the same as their current years.

In a drop from the previous years, only 10 percent of the agencies expect budget increase in 2010.

Almost a quarter of the reporting agencies (23 percent) say they expect more ARRA money in their geographic area early in the years (compared to 19 percent of contractors). Almost two thirds (64 percent) say they feel the stimulus is very or somewhat effective.

Among state agencies current fiscal year data indicates 45 percent with budget cuts and only 15 percent reporting increases. Slightly more than half (52 percent) expect budget cuts next year with just nine percent forecasting an increase sand 39 percent saying budgets will stay about the same.

Among those state agencies, bridge preventive maintenance had the largest spending increase this year.

County agencies reporting expect their next fiscal year road budget increases to be slightly lower (16 percent) than their current fiscal year (19 percent) but feel budget decreases will remain about the same.

Among cities and municipalities survey returns show road budgets fell short in their current fiscal year versus their last fiscal year, but their rate of increase for next year is slightly higher than their current year.

Townships forecast their next fiscal year as flat. As with state agencies bridges, in this case bridge deck repairs, were a spending priority.