Understanding County Aid Road Trust (CART) Funds
February 17, 2021
Sheila Harris
According to a funding history of Missouri’s roadways published by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Missouri’s first motor fuel tax was adopted by the vote of the people in 1924, by way of an initiative petition.
In 1962, the County Aid Road Trust (CART) program was established, after a constitutional amendment was approved by voters allowing cities and counties to share in state motor fuel tax revenues. A county’s allocation was based on the ratio of a county’s and city’s roads to the total number of the state’s rural and municipal roads.
In 1979, voters approved another constitutional amendment which changed the distribution formula for CART funds. The percentage of revenue counties received from the state for their rural road maintenance jumped from 5 percent to 10 percent, while the percentage of revenue for city roads remained the same.
While one can’t say for certain that this jump in prospective state revenue provided an incentive for county officials to take on the maintenance of more rural roads, it would be naïve to suppose that it didn’t play a part. Rocky roads throughout the county gradually began to disappear beneath chip and seal surfaces, not altogether a bad thing for some who lived in remote areas.
Barry County now claims about 1,000 miles of rural roads, according to presiding commissioner, Gary Youngblood. That number is compared to the state’s total 2020 rural road mileage of 73,651.70, a ratio on which 50 percent of CART funds received by Barry County from the state are based. The other 50 percent of Barry County’s CART funds are based on the county’s rural land valuation, compared to the state’s total rural land valuation - $27,138, 270,550, in 2020 - according to MoDOT records.
Barry County ranks 14th among 114 counties in the state in terms of size, with 779 square miles.
In 2020, Barry County received the 12th largest allocation of CART funds among counties in the state, with $1,377,704.09, as reported by MoDOT. That number includes the combined allocation for both rural roads and rural land valuation.
CART fund revenue for 2021 is projected to be $1,306,890, according to the MoDOT website, slightly less than funds received in 2020. Still, that projection is almost $100,000 more than the projection made six years ago for the 2015 budget, which was $1,208,320.
Sheila Harris
According to a funding history of Missouri’s roadways published by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Missouri’s first motor fuel tax was adopted by the vote of the people in 1924, by way of an initiative petition.
In 1962, the County Aid Road Trust (CART) program was established, after a constitutional amendment was approved by voters allowing cities and counties to share in state motor fuel tax revenues. A county’s allocation was based on the ratio of a county’s and city’s roads to the total number of the state’s rural and municipal roads.
In 1979, voters approved another constitutional amendment which changed the distribution formula for CART funds. The percentage of revenue counties received from the state for their rural road maintenance jumped from 5 percent to 10 percent, while the percentage of revenue for city roads remained the same.
While one can’t say for certain that this jump in prospective state revenue provided an incentive for county officials to take on the maintenance of more rural roads, it would be naïve to suppose that it didn’t play a part. Rocky roads throughout the county gradually began to disappear beneath chip and seal surfaces, not altogether a bad thing for some who lived in remote areas.
Barry County now claims about 1,000 miles of rural roads, according to presiding commissioner, Gary Youngblood. That number is compared to the state’s total 2020 rural road mileage of 73,651.70, a ratio on which 50 percent of CART funds received by Barry County from the state are based. The other 50 percent of Barry County’s CART funds are based on the county’s rural land valuation, compared to the state’s total rural land valuation - $27,138, 270,550, in 2020 - according to MoDOT records.
Barry County ranks 14th among 114 counties in the state in terms of size, with 779 square miles.
In 2020, Barry County received the 12th largest allocation of CART funds among counties in the state, with $1,377,704.09, as reported by MoDOT. That number includes the combined allocation for both rural roads and rural land valuation.
CART fund revenue for 2021 is projected to be $1,306,890, according to the MoDOT website, slightly less than funds received in 2020. Still, that projection is almost $100,000 more than the projection made six years ago for the 2015 budget, which was $1,208,320.