Lake County’s Share Is $90.9 million
Tennessee needs at least $62.9 billion of public infrastructure improvements during the five-year period of July 2021 through June 2026, according to a new report released by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). Public infrastructure improvements for Lake County total $90.9 million, an increase of $9.0 million (11.0%) since last year’s report.
The current report, which is based on information provided by state and local officials, shows an increase of $1.2 billion in the entire state’s infrastructure needs (2.0%) from the January 2022 report.
Statewide, the top three areas of need are
• Transportation at $34.7 billion,
• Post-secondary education at $5.6 billion, and
• School renovations at $5.5 billion.
Officials report that Lake County’s top three areas of need are
• Law enforcement at $53.3 million,
• Transportation at $11.6 million, and
• School renovations and replacements at $10.9 million.
The county’s total estimated cost for new or improved infrastructure is $12,759 per capita, compared with $9,012 statewide per capita. Lake County’s estimated Law enforcement needs per capita amount to $7,472, higher than the $300 per capita reported statewide. Lake County reported Transportation infrastructure needs of $1,621 per capita, higher than the statewide average of $4,979 per capita. As for School renovations and replacements infrastructure needs, Lake County reported $1533 per capita, which is higher than the statewide average of $782 per capita.
Less than a third of the money needed to meet Tennessee’s public infrastructure needs has been identified. Statewide, officials are confident that $15.4 billion (32.4%) will be available for the $47.6 billion in needs for which funding information is collected in this year’s report. About $13.4 million (49.8%) of the $27.0 million total funding needed to meet Lake County’s infrastructure needs has been identified. Funding information for needed improvements at existing schools and for needs reported in state agencies’ capital budget requests is not collected in the inventory.
Among Tennessee’s 95 counties, Lake County ranked
• 91st in total population (7,128),
• 89th in population change between 2000 and 2021 (-813),
• 94th in population growth rate since 2000 (-10.2%),
• 74th in population density at 44 people per square mile,
• 78th in total estimated infrastructure needs ($90.9 million),
• 11th in total estimated infrastructure needs per capita ($12,759), and
• 5th in total public-school needs per student ($14,954).
This report is the only source of statewide information on the condition of public-school buildings and the cost to put them all in good or better condition. According to local school officials, 89.8% of local public schools statewide are now in good or excellent condition. However, they estimate the cost to put the remaining 10.2% in good or better condition and keep the others in good or
excellent condition is $5.2 billion, which is a $230 million increase from the cost reported in the previous inventory.
Officials in Lake County rated 66.7% of their school buildings as less than good overall. Local officials estimate the cost to upgrade or maintain existing schools to good or better condition is $10.8 million for the Lake County school system. The cost to bring all Tennessee public school buildings up to at least good condition is $5,429 per student statewide, compared with $14,954 per student in Lake County.
This year’s report, like last year’s, includes a statewide overview chapter that provides information by type of infrastructure, the condition and needs of our public-school facilities, the availability of funding to meet reported needs, and a comparison of county-area needs. Following that section, one-page summaries for each county-area list the estimated cost for all types of infrastructure by
stage of development. The summaries also highlight the top three types of infrastructure improvements needed in each county based on total estimated cost and compare the infrastructure needed at public school systems to student enrollment. Further detailed county-area information about each type of infrastructure in the inventory, along with relevant legislation, inventory forms, and a glossary of terms, can be found in the appendixes to the report.
The full report can be found on TACIR’s web site at
https://www.tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure/infrastructure-reports-/building-tennessee-s-tomorrow-2021- 2026.html
TACIR Mission
TACIR’s mission is to serve as a forum for the discussion and resolution of intergovernmental problems, provide high quality research support to state and local government officials in order to improve the overall quality of government in Tennessee and to improve the effectiveness of the intergovernmental system to better serve the citizens of Tennessee.
