Thursday, June 16, 2011

The evidence of the Berrien County Road Commission’s budget crunch can be seen and felt driving down many of the roads in Niles and Bertrand townships. Many county roads are falling apart, but with rising materials costs and decreasing revenues, the road commission can’t do anything about it.

The road commission is responsible for 1,483 miles of road, and a recent study rated 200 of them in poor condition.

There’s no doubt the road projects need more cash, but the proposed county-wide road millage is the wrong way of going about it. The road commission is proposing a six-year half-mill levy that would generate $3.4 million a year.

The problem is it is a property tax, so those who own a lot of land, like farmers, will pay significantly more than those living in apartments — never mind the fact that both probably use the county roads. Only 17 of Michigan’s 83 counties currently have road millages.

Meanwhile, the state gas tax, a true user fee that helps to fund county road commissions, hasn’t been raised since 1997 when it was set at 19 cents a gallon. But increasing the gas tax would certainly not be well-received right now with fuel prices hovering around $4 a gallon.

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, has a solution that we like. He is sponsoring Senate Bill 351, which would dedicate 18 percent of the 4 percent sales tax on gas to the State Trunk Line Fund to match available federal highway funds. Under current law, none of the sales tax on gas goes toward transportation.

The measure would increase the Comprehensive Transportation Fund, which is for the development of public transportation systems, by an estimated $254 million a year. It is also estimated that it would boost the State Trunkline Fund, used for highway, road, street and bridge projects, by $135 million per year.

The bill has passed the Senate Transportation Committee and will be before the full Senate today.

It’s not a miracle solution but a good first step by the state to help improve Michigan roads. Tell your representatives to support Senate Bill 351.

This editorial reflects the views of the Niles Daily Star editorial board.