All over the state counties are behind on their prescribed burns.

We know once we start that we're going to have more and more demand on the resources and therefore we're going to have to have some kind of way to address those concerns that those demands create.

What we'd like to do is coordinate it so that the state and the counties are on the same page and that we're providing the same message to anyone ? whether they're a private landowner or large-scale developer.

The problem that we're facing is not unique to Hernando County. All 67 counties in the state are facing this issue of dramatically increased costs and not enough revenue to maintain levels of service.

It's a state issue, state problem and I think they need to be proactive about fixing it before the counties come forward,

MDOT has maintenance agreements with 63 counties statewide. They prove to be an efficient way of maintaining the state highways.