The complexity of the Michigan road funding ballot proposal deters many from wanting to vote for it, Hillsdale County residents said at a town hall Monday.
Michigan state Sen. Mike Shirkey and Rep. Eric Leutheuser held the town hall at the Perennial Park Senior Center to inform local residents about the ballot proposal that will be voted on in May. At this time, they are two of only a few members of the state legislature holding meetings to explain the bill.
“It’s a simple reason we’re here,” Leutheuser told approximately 100 attendees. “Our roads are bad.”
If the proposal passes in May, about $1.2 billion more will go toward Michigan transportation annually, according to predictions from the Michigan Department of Transportation. By 2018, about $7 million of that will go toward Hillsdale County specifically.
The proposal includes getting rid of Michigan’s sales tax on fuel and replacing the current 19-cent flat tax with one equaling 14.9 percent of fuel’s wholesale price. For example, when gas costs $2.40 per gallon, motorists will pay about 10 cents more per gallon under the proposed tax system, according to a report published this month by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
Because the proposed tax is a percentage of fuel’s fluctuating wholesale cost, its added cost to consumers will depend on that price. Leutheuser emphasized that the tax includes a ceiling and floor, so the price can only fluctuate within that band and won’t change dramatically if the price of fuel spikes or dips.
Also under the ballot proposal, the state sales tax, which excludes food and drugs, will rise from 6 to 7 percent, and car registration fees will increase.
All of the money raised from the fuel tax will go toward transportation, and the sales tax will go into the state’s General Fund, School Aid Fund, and revenue sharing to local governments.
Under the proposed tax system, the amount of money Hillsdale County receives from the state for road work every year would increase by almost 70 percent, according to Hillsdale County Road Commission Manager Stan Clingerman.
Right now, Hillsdale County receives about $1.4 million per year, but this number would increase to approximately $7 million by the 2018 fiscal year if the proposal passes.
Most said they agreed with the need to raise money for transportation costs, but didn’t like the extras, like $300 million for schools and $100 million for state revenue sharing.
“We had to add the Christmas ornaments of general funding and school funding, because otherwise we couldn’t get enough votes for the proposal,” Shirkey told concerned residents.
Although both Shirkey and Leutheuser admitted the proposal is not the ideal solution to fixing Michigan’s roads, they said there is no simpler alternative that could garner enough votes for Michigan’s legislature to pass it.
“Unfortunately, the ugliness of politics can’t be separated,” Shirkey said.
Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram, who attended the town hall, said the ballot proposal does not have strong support right now, largely because it’s a complex bill.
“If you just had a simple increase for funding the roads, it would pass,” Wolfram said. “But people’s instinct if it’s too complicated is to say no.”
“People are justified to be skeptical when it’s complicated,” Leutheuser said. “But this would be adding millions to the county on an ongoing basis.”
Clingerman added this proposal is likely the “last best chance to do something for our roads.”
Hillsdale County resident and town hall attendee Howard Young said he is in favor of raising revenue for road improvements, but is not convinced this proposal is worth voting for.
Shirkey told attendees Monday that because he voted to put the proposal on the May ballot, he will vote for it. Leutheuser, who was elected to the legislature after the proposal was added, declined to comment about his voting plans.
City of Hillsdale Mayor Scott Sessions said the town hall explained the intricacies of the ballot proposal well, and he plans to vote for it in May.
“We need to do something, and this is a start,” Sessions said.
