Richardville supports study that could lead to future changes in county road funding formula
LANSING – Sen. Randy Richardville today supported an amendment to the Michigan Department of Transportation budget that calls for the department to conduct a statewide study that could be used to change the county road funding formula.
“I am deeply concerned about the poor return the 17th Senate District gets on its contribution to the Michigan Transportation Fund. Just as Michigan is a donor state to the federal government, this district gives more to the state than it gets back,” said Richardville, R-Monroe. “Changing the county road funding formula could provide more money for roads in Monroe, Jackson and Washtenaw counties.”
The study would include a comparison of vehicle miles traveled to route miles, an evaluation of other states, and an assessment of best practices.
Under Public Act 51, funds are distributed to Michigan’s 83 counties, in part, using route miles as opposed to annual vehicle miles traveled. Monroe County receives the least amount of dollars ranked at 83rd; Washtenaw County receives the second least at 82nd; and Jackson County is 64th under this formula.
By changing the formula to annual vehicle miles traveled, one possible alternative to the current method, Monroe County’s funding could increase by more than 2.2 million (20.6 percent), the third highest increase in the state. Washtenaw County could receive an additional $550,322 (2.9 percent) and Jackson County could receive $161,690 (1.4 percent) more. This would result in nearly $3 million more for the three counties.
“The problem with route miles is that a lightly traveled rural two-lane road in northern Michigan is treated exactly the same as a heavily traveled multiple-lane road in Monroe County,” Richardville said. “I will continue to advocate for the 17th Senate District to receive its fair share of the road funding as the Legislature debates reforms to Michigan’s transportation network.”
In March, Richardville introduced Senate Resolution 23 calling upon members of the governor’s Transportation Funding Task Force to recommend that the $1.5 billion in state funding be distributed based on a more equitable formula based on vehicle miles traveled.
Posted: Thursday, June 11, 2009
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