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	“The weather forecast is calling for an abnormally wet spring. I want to upgrade driveway culverts on private drives to handle the increased storm water. Can the county purchase and install these culverts to preserve the integrity of the county road?”

May a county expend public funds to purchase culverts and resell them to private citizens?

In an older letter opinion, the Texas attorney general was asked whether a county could use public funds to purchase materials for culvert installation and resell them to landowners whose property abuts a county road. The attorney general concluded that the answer depends on whether the county identified “county business” in the provision of the culvert materials.

Examples of county business may include ensuring culverts placed in the county right-of-way do not interfere with drainage or traffic. County business likely would not include allowing landowners to benefit from lower prices from bulk purchases or generating a profit for the county. See Tex. Att’y Gen. Letter Op. LO-90-22 (1990).

For more information, see our new Road & Bridge Handbook.