The topic of funding Hillsdale’s roads caused several to voice their opinions at City Council’s Feb. 3 meeting, including state Rep. Ken Kurtz.
Kurtz attended the meeting in response to a letter the council sent him asking about viable options for solving Hillsdale’s road problem.
“I’m letting it be known that, even before I received this letter, I particularly believed that this should be one of the main priorities throughout the state of Michigan,” Kurtz said. “That is, what are we going to do with the roads?”
Kurtz said that there previously has not been the revenue in Michigan to spend on needs like infrastructure and roads, but as things are looking up, more money will be appropriated for those things.
“Things haven’t been comfortable for any of us in the private or public sector as we’ve watched the economy drop to the point it has, but we are seeing it come back,” Kurtz said.
In addition to discussing funding solutions within the Michigan House of Representatives, Kurtz held a meeting with the chair of the transportation appropriation committee Wednesday to review the monetary needs, particularly in Hillsdale and Branch counties, to fix the roads.
In addition to Kurtz, Hillsdale residents Allison Hutchinson and Jaminda Springer expressed their opinions about road funding. Both were responding to the recently publicized list of road-funding options and urged the council to dismiss the city income tax.
“Let’s focus on new ideas,” Hutchinson said.