Officials to draft ballot language for road millage (From the 4-8 County Press)

[William Gavette]

BY JEFF HOGAN

810-452-2640 • [e-mail]

Dale Kerbyson

LAPEER — Lapeer Clerk Donna Cronce was given the green light Monday evening by the Lapeer City Commission to begin to draft ballot language should the city decide at a later date to run a city-wide road millage next November.

The Lapeer City Commission held a brief workshop session Monday evening for the purpose to give direction to city staff regarding its intent on whether or not to pursue a millage election.

 

There was consensus to start the process toward a ballot initiative, with equal talk that should Proposal 1 pass on May 5 at the state level to raise the sales tax from six to seven percent that a Lapeer road millage pursuit would likely be canceled.

Proposal 1 proposes to raise $1.3 billion per year, with $1.2 billion of that to be constitutionally protected to only be spent on roads and bridges. City, villages and counties would stand to receive tens of thousands to millions depending on the size of the municipality to be used on local roads.

The City of Lapeer would stand to see at least a 40 percent increase in funding toward its roads.

Lapeer officials at least wanted to broach the subject of a local road millage following the 1.85-mill ballot proposal run by the Lapeer County Road Commission last November. While it was defeated on a countywide basis, the proposal was approved by 58 percent of Lapeer voters who cast their ballots in its four precincts.

Lapeer officials will draft ballot language to mirror the county proposal that did better than elsewhere in the county — a 1.85-mill proposal for six years.

“I want some guarantee that it will go to roads,” commented commissioner Mike Robinet, should the city opt to run its own independent election next fall.

City staff is currently compiling a street-by-street study of the condition of all Lapeer streets, so that administrators know which roads rank highest in need of major repair or total rebuild to help steer projects should money become available. Whether the money is raised through Proposal 1 up for decision in May or through a local road millage, Lapeer officials plan to have a master list from which to work off to plan future projects.

Currently in Lapeer, street improvement projects are funded in part by special assessment districts that charge homeowners, businesses and property owners that front the roads a percentage of the overall project cost — a practice that never goes over well with the impacted stakeholders.

It is necessary to start now to draft ballot language because it must be approved at the state level, a process that can take as long as a month, to be followed by publication of legal notices.

“We just want to be ready depending on whatever happens to the May 5 proposal. The people in Lapeer have said they want better roads … This is a process to position ourselves should we want to run a millage,” city manager Dale Kerbyson said.

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