The Van Buren County Road Commission is planning a couple of informational meetings to tell voters about the road millage renewal that will appear on their ballots in August.
Van Buren County Road Commission Managing Director Bret Witkowski tells us the question will be on the August 6 primary ballot, and what’s at stake is the renewal of a millage that’s been in place since 1978. It raises about $2.8 million per year for the county’s roads, and 42% of it is earmarked for townships to decide how to use it themselves.
Witkowski says the county is fortunate to have its own road millage.
“We’re only one of, I think, 31 counties in the state that have a road millage.,” Witkowski said. “So we’re very fortunate of that. And then on top of that, 17 of the 18 townships have a road millage. So that money can raise about $7 to $8 million a year that can be used for roads. I think everybody would attest we need to work across the state of Michigan and try to keep pace with what we have in our system.”
The millage represents about 10% of the road commission’s budget. At a time when revenue from the gasoline tax is down, the local millage is all the more significant.
The millage is 0.9721 mills, and the renewal would be for four years.
Anyone who wants to learn more about the millage can attend one of the information meetings. They will both be on Thursday, June 20 at the Van Buren Conference Center in Lawrence. One meeting will be at 11 a.m. and the other will be at 6 p.m.
Witkowski says road commission staff will be on hand at the meetings to tell everyone about how the millage is used and how it helps each community in the county.
