Madison County must review private availability and set yearly pricing before issuing a written policy for road services and road construction materials.
(a) It is the intent of this article to make available to Madison County residents the aforementioned services only when such road related services and road building materials are not available to them at a reasonable cost from private enterprise. Upon May 28, 1980, and annually thereafter, the Madison County Commission shall examine the availability of work, services, and material from private enterprise in the various areas of Madison County and shall determine a cost for providing road related services and road construction material. The Madison County Commission shall enter upon the minutes the results of such examination, and the pricing cost for the year, with necessary allowances made for price changes during the year. The Madison County Commission shall then promulgate a written policy which shall govern the performance by county crews and equipment of the road related services and the sale of road construction material by the county. The policy shall include: A description of the road related services which shall be performed and the road construction materials to be sold; a provision to include private enterprise to service those needs found in its previous examination; and the limitation upon the areas in which the road related services shall be performed and in which road construction materials shall be sold to those areas in which such work, services, or materials is not reasonably available at a reasonable cost from private enterprise. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the county shall in no way compete unfairly with the private sector and that road related services or road construction materials shall be made available only to those citizens of Madison County where such road related services or road construction material is not available from private enterprise at a reasonable cost. Moreover, the policy shall include provisions to insure that no subsidy may be allowed to those individuals, firms, or corporations contracting with the county and that all cost, either direct or indirect, shall be borne by those entities contracting with the county. Finally, the policy shall include the provisions of a full financial accounting to support such requirements and the accounting shall be subject to public inspection. In promulgating the policy and in promulgating any change to the policy, the Madison County Commission, after publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation, shall hold a public hearing on the matter; provided, however, an increase in pricing to cover any increase in the costs of materials and labor shall not require a public hearing. The written policy and pricing cost adopted by the Madison County Commission shall be published annually in a newspaper of general circulation in Madison County in the type normally used for news stories and shall state that the pricing cost will be discussed, in a public hearing forum, at a specified regularly scheduled meeting of the Madison County Commission, at the request of any interested citizen; provided, however, that the notice appear at least one week prior to the meeting.