Most of the Niles Township Board members don’t necessarily support a county-wide road millage, but they do like the idea of letting the voters decide if there should be one.

The board voted 6-1 Monday night to support putting a six-year, half-mill county-wide road millage on the ballot in August 2012.

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners will have the final say as to whether the issue will be put to a vote.

Berrien County Road Commission Manager Brian Berendt, representing the Committee for Better Roads in Berrien County, was in attendance to explain the concept of the millage. If the millage passes, it would generate $3.4 million each year to fund road maintenance and improvement projects.

Berendt also explained that 60 percent of the funds generated in the township would stay in the township, while 40 percent would be used as matching funds for roads that qualify for federal funding in the township’s district. The county has been outlined into four districts.

Meanwhile, cities and villages in the county, which are responsible for their own roads, would keep 100 percent of the money generated from the millage in their area.

Berendt explained that the road commission is in a budget crunch and has had to cancel several road projects due to increased costs of materials and a decrease in funding from the state gas tax.

“We’ve got the toys, the equipment and the manpower. We just don’t have the money to do it,” he said.

Niles Township Treasurer Jim Ringler said that while he voted for putting the issue on the ballot, he is not in support of the millage itself, arguing it comes at a bad time with the down economy. He also said that as an ad valorem tax or one that is based on personal property and real estate, “farmers will be hit terribly tough.”

“It should be more of a user tax,” Ringler said. “If I was at ballot today, I would vote no.”

Supervisor Jim Kidwell estimated that 95 percent of the calls he takes from residents are regarding roads and agrees that something should be done about them.

“I don’t think a lot of people will want to see a millage,” he said. “But to give the public a chance to voice their opinion, I would at least like to see something on the ballot.”

Several township residents asked questions about the proposed millage, a few of them voicing their opinions against it.