(a) The monies distributed to a municipality from the fund shall be deposited in a separate fund maintained by the municipality and expended only for one or more of the following:
(1) The maintenance, improvement, replacement, and construction of roads and bridges within a municipality's jurisdictional limits.
(2) As matching funds for federal road or bridge projects.
(3) The payment of any debt associated with a road or bridge project.
(4) With the consent of the county, for the maintenance, improvement, or replacement of county-maintained roads and bridges within the municipality's jurisdictional limits.
(5) For a joint road or bridge project with the county pursuant to any agreement executed under the authority of state law.
(b) The municipality shall not use monies from the fund for any of the following purposes except in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for job cost accounting or federal cost allocation regulations:
(1) Salaries, benefits, or any other form of compensation for municipal or contract employees or municipal officials.
(2) The purchase, lease, or maintenance of equipment.
(3) The maintenance or construction of public buildings or other structures that are not roads or bridges.
(c) All monies allocated from the fund shall be audited by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts in the same manner as all other municipal funds.
(d) Any municipal project utilizing monies from the fund for road or bridge maintenance, improvement, replacement, or construction on roads or bridges shall be designed in a manner consistent with the standards adopted by the department.
(e) At the first meeting in October of each year following the creation of the fund, the municipal governing body receiving funds shall adopt an annual Municipal Transportation Safety Fund Plan for the current fiscal year, which plan shall be approved by affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the municipal governing body. The plan shall include only projects authorized in subsection (a). The plan shall be based upon an estimate of the revenues anticipated from the fund during the fiscal year. The municipal governing body shall consider the needs of each district in the municipality in establishing its annual plan and the annual plan shall not be altered once adopted at the first meeting in October. Once adopted, the annual plan shall at all times be posted in conspicuous places at the municipal hall, the mayor's office, the municipal highway department, and any other places deemed appropriate by the municipal governing body. Additionally, the plan shall be posted on the municipality's website, if available.
(f) At the first meeting in January of each year following the creation of the fund, the city engineer or other person designated by the municipal governing body shall present the municipal governing body with an annual written report detailing expenditures made from the fund during the previous fiscal year, which report shall include the status of each project included in the previous fiscal year's Alabama Transportation Safety Fund Plan. The report shall be entered into the minutes of the municipal governing body meeting and shall be made available to the public for inspection, including posting on the municipality's website, if available.
Last modified: May 3, 2021