By Tom Gilchrist
For The Advertiser
CARO — Faced with what they call “record-breaking” winter road-maintenance costs, Tuscola County Road Commission leaders are discussing whether to cut the annual $25,000 allowance they offer to each of the county’s 23 townships to pave roads.
The five members of the board overseeing the Road Commission will meet at 8 a.m. Thursday to discuss the traditional “blacktop allowance.” A township must agree to do a $50,000 paving project in order to get the matching $25,000, according to Road Commission officials.
“If the $25,000 was $20,000 instead of $25,000, that would make about a $100,000 difference,” Road Board member Pat Sheridan said at the board’s March 13 meeting.
“Potentially,” added Road Board Chairman Jack Laurie. “Not everybody will use the ($25,000).”
Almer Township Supervisor Jim Miklovic told the board that “From the township’s standpoint, obviously, we’d like to have more money put into your roads; they’re your roads, but we live there, so we’re willing to help and we want to help. We want good roads to drive on.”
On March 11, the Almer Township Board of Trustees decided to ask voters to approve an August property-tax increase that would levy an additional 1-mill tax on residents to raise money for roads. Almer residents already pay a 1-mill road tax, but if they approve the August proposal, it would add another 1-mill tax to raise more road money.
“We need to do two miles of asphalt a year, at least,” Miklovic told the Road Board. “Really, without taking money out of the township’s general fund, we can do only one mile with your $25,000. It takes your $25,000, and our (1-mill tax), to do one mile. And then we have 10 miles of gravel roads — we like to put dust control on those 10 miles one time, and that’s really all we’re doing without taking money out of the general fund.”
If Almer Township voters approve the new 1-mill road tax, that millage and the existing 1-mill road tax “would be staggered — every two years we would be voting on a (millage) renewal,” Miklovic said.
In an average winter season, the Road Commission spends $1.19 million on maintenance of primary roads — such as Vassar, Bay City-Forestville and Hurds Corner roads — and local roads, according to Road Commission Finance Director Mike Tuckey.
But this winter season, through March 12, the Road Commission had spent $1.89 million on maintenance of primary and local roads — about $700,000 more than it spends in an average winter.
The Road Commission already has broken its old record of $1.56 million spent on winter road maintenance in 2008, according to Tuckey.
Road Board Vice-Chairman Gary Parsell added that “This is going to be the most we’ve ever spent on snow removal in the history of the Road Commission — and we’re not done yet.”
Miklovic said that 10 years ago, the same $25,000 annual allowance was offered to each township for road-paving projects, “and (new) blacktop cost $25,000 to $28,000 a mile — and now, the allowance is still $25,000, and it costs $65,000 to $67,000 to blacktop a mile of road.”
Parsell said Road Commission officials met with state leaders in Lansing earlier this winter and noted additional state money could be headed to the Road Commission.
“I think I’m pretty confident we’re going to get that money; there’s a lot of people who lied to us last week if we don’t,” Parsell said.
Miklovic told the Road Board that the annual $25,000 allowance offered to the 23 townships helps the Road Commission, too. “If the townships don’t blacktop miles of road out there, then you guys are going to be patching ‘em,” Miklovic said. “Then pretty soon, you’re going to want to grind ‘em up and put ‘em back to gravel for us.”
Tuckey said he would hate to see the Road Commission do away with the $25,000 allowance. “It’s a good program,” he said. “If we didn’t have it, the townships would do a lot less work, and that doesn’t help anybody. On the other hand, I can’t sit here and tell you — given the (costs for winter road maintenance) I just gave you — that it’s a good thing to do right now.”