Road officials want millage on Nov. 4 ballot

Fri, May 9, 2008

The Ottawa County Road Commission is hoping to push a road millage proposal onto the November ballot.

Road Commission Director Kent Rubley said the proposal needs to be approved by July. To do so, he plans to bring it before the county's Planning and Policy Committee on June 12 and before the county Board of Commissioners on June 24.

"I think we'll get it on the ballot," Rubley said. "We've talked to the county board for a couple years now about the possibility, so I think the county board is going to be willing to at least put it on the ballot and see what the people think."

The Road Commission is seeking a .5 mill tax — or 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable personal property — for each year from 2009-2014.

Rubley estimates the millage could bring in $4.4 million. He said $1 million would go to the cities, which are not under road commission jurisdiction, and another $1 million would be controlled by township officials for local road resurfacing.

The commission would use the other $2.4 million to repair local roads, which haven't gotten necessary attention in recent years because of a lack of funding.

"I think a six-year period gives us a good opportunity to do what we say we're going to do," Rubley said. "I really didn't want to go too long initially."

At an April 24 work session, Rubley told the Board of Commissioners that the Road Commission is spending only $400,000 a year on local road maintenance, but needs at least $2 million a year to catch up.

Thirteen county road commissions in Michigan already have millages, including neighboring Allegan County.

The Road Commission recently brought to light a 1909 state law that gave the County Board of Commissioners authority to impose a millage without voter approval. But several commissioners agreed a special millage is a better route, because it requires voter approval and won't affect the county's maximum allowable millage.

The Road Commission then decided to seek a countywide millage in 2009, but County Clerk Dan Krueger said holding an off-year election would cost the Road Commission at least $75,000.

Officials discussed holding off on a road millage vote until 2010, because a Michigan task force is currently researching road maintenance options. The task force is scheduled to report its findings next April.

"We just felt we can't wait two more years for that," Rubley said. "We're unable to keep up with the surface maintenance of our local road system, and I don't foresee any changes in our road funding until at least 2010."

The Road Commission has not replaced 19 retired union employees over the last several years, and recently decided not to replace Operations Director Jerry Diekema, who retires May 16.

Other county road commissions are also facing budget shortages, and have been forced to layoff workers.

"Part of the conversation could be how many counties are looking at pulverizing blacktop roads and turning them back into gravel," Road Commissioner David Vander Kooi.