Washtenaw County Road Commission makes $1.4 million in cuts
The Washtenaw County Board of Road Commissioners this week approved a series of service level adjustments aimed at reducing costs.
Road Commission officials said the adjustments, which will save $1.4 million, were approved as proposed earlier this year during the public comment stage.
Some of the cuts going into effect include reductions in street sweeping and snow removal services on nights and weekends, more limited sign maintenance and less pavement marking on local roads. The Road Commission also is asking townships to share more of the cost for some projects.
The timing of the adjustments, agency leaders say, has been driven by the steadily decreasing amount of Michigan Transportation Fund revenues. Since 2004, Washtenaw County's MTF revenue has decreased annually. The downward trend of revenue contrasts with a 53 percent increase in routine maintenance costs.
"Like the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Washtenaw County Road Commission is rapidly approaching a time when we will not have the capacity to match federal grant programs, and we will not be able to participate in locally funded initiatives," Managing Director Steven Puuri said in a written statement today.
"Returning federal grants and deferring road system improvements would be a huge disservice to the traveling public in our County," Puuri said. "For these reasons, the Road Commission has determined it is imperative that we make some service level adjustments now, so we can continue to match grant programs and locally funded initiatives for the foreseeable future."
Puuri said some of the cuts are aimed at freeing up resources to start a new matching drainage program with townships.
"We recognize that is an area that has been lacking," he said. "The intent of the board next year would be to develop a new 50-50 matching program for the townships to allocate toward drainage improvements along open ditch drainage roads."
Puuri said the Road Commission is anticipates approving a 2010 budget of $35 million. The $1.4 million in savings may accumulate over more than one year, he added.
Click here to download a PDF containing a complete outline of the service level adjustments from the Road Commission's Web site.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
Rod in Chelsea
Sun, Oct 11, 2009 : 8:46 p.m.
Sums it nicely shumom23.
shumom23
Sat, Oct 10, 2009 : 11:31 p.m.
For all of you who are slamming the union you obviously do not know how much these guys make to get out there in the worst of conditions and make sure your roads are safe so you can go to the union jobs that pay you, a line person at a over paid union job that any idiot could do,NOT WHAT YOU MAKE TRUST ME!!!! Road commission foremans who work thirty years make what you a ten year plus union employee makes! so slam the auto workers union for the mess we are in for when they only gave 4 hours work for eight hours pay they cut there own throats and that is a fact as I have watched many a auto worker drink lunch and go back to punch out. THANK THEM!!!
mkw
Sat, Oct 10, 2009 : 8:43 p.m.
GET RID OF THE COMMISSION ALL TOGETHER. Follow other places to make things work better and cheaper.
Rod in Chelsea
Sat, Oct 10, 2009 : 9:39 a.m.
Whatever born/raised. Get a grip. There is more money wasted on worthless crap in this state than I have ever seen anywhere else. No one is held accountable and the people just keep on giving and giving because they claim they will take away from our schools if we don't. And that is yet another mismanagement issue. And since you are not a union person, you can't give an educated response. I was union for many years. They held a wonderful and needed place in history but they have outlived their need and are now more of a waste. The unions are a huge reason for our increase in autos and many other things. And for your info, I have seen the worthless things that unions will do such as make it so a person that NEEDS to be fired gets retained. More waste of and abuse by unions.
Rod in Chelsea
Sat, Oct 10, 2009 : 7:38 a.m.
Why don't we just pay them to sit on their rears at the garages? Might as well as it is coming to this. Spending should have been reeled in and adjusted YEARS ago instead of just blowing it. Someone needed to learn how to handle our money in a responsible manner. And as for wordup's comments.............the unions are what put us in this situation as it is!
Skeet
Fri, Oct 9, 2009 : 11:39 p.m.
Do they not know that this is Michigan? It snows every night, every weekend.
wordup
Fri, Oct 9, 2009 : 7:56 p.m.
as long as the unions dont have to lose any jobs (albeit on the taxpayers bill), im satisfied with losing some public safety services...go blue!