Andrew Deters, County Engineer, has the following to say about the Materials Tax which will be on the November 3rd Ballot.
It is required there be a vote every 5 years on whether or not to continue the Jasper County Materials Tax. This Materials Tax was originally approved by Jasper County Voters in 1991 in order to purchase materials which were needed to upgrade 60 miles of County Highways which were still gravel at that time. Over the next 11 years all of those 60 miles of gravel roads were upgraded with the last gravel section of County Highway being seal coated with oil and chip in 2002. From 2003 to 2006 oil prices ranged from $0.78 per gallon to $1.03 per gallon respectively and Aggregate prices ranged from $6.10 per ton to $6.75 per ton respectively. During that time approximately ½ of the County Highways were seal coated each year. From 2006 to 2010 oil prices doubled to $2.09 per gallon and aggregate increased to $10.50 per ton. Due to these increases only approximately ¼ of the County Highways were able to be seal coated each year. Without the materials tax those improvements made in the 1990s and the maintenance performed since the early 2000s would not have been possible.
Currently this year’s 2026 oil price is $3.38 per gallon and the aggregate price is $19.00 per ton. With the help of the materials tax, Jasper County will continue to be able to seal coat approximately ¼ of the County’s 181 miles of Highways each year. The County Highway currently receives approximately $215,000 from the Materials Tax Fund. At the current cost of oil and aggregate, the Materials Tax Fund will cover the materials cost to seal coat approximately 13 miles of County Highway.
The cost to taxpayers for the Materials Tax Fund is 8.33 cents per $100 of Assessed Property Value. An example of the amount of cost to a Jasper County taxpayer for a property with an Assessed Property Value of $100,000 is as follows:
Assessed Property Value = $100,000
Real Estate Taxes based on 1/3 of the Assessed Property Value = $100,000 / 3 = $33,333.33 Materials Tax Cost per $100,000 in Property Value= ($33,333.33 / 100) x $0.0833 = $27.77
In conclusion, in order to continue to maintain the Jasper County Highways in the current good condition it is important to approve the Material Tax Referendum at the November Election. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS NOT A NEW TAX AND THE FUNDS ARE USED FOR ROAD MATERIALS ONLY. If anyone has questions regarding the materials tax, please feel free to contact the Highway Department at 618-783-2915.
The Roads shown in Green on the map below are Jasper County Highways
