A motion to suspend the use of special assessment districts to fund road repairs until November 2026 was voted down by the Hillsdale City Council at its March 3 meeting.
Ward 2 Councilman Matthew Bentley introduced a motion to suspend the use of SADs until the November mayoral election. The assessments designate run-down roads for repair, charging residents on that road up to $5,000 per parcel, with an additional $1,200 to $1,500 in interest for those opting for a payment plan. The council voted against the motion 6-2, with Bentley and Ward 4 Councilman Joshua Paladino as the sole supporters.
Residents of affected districts vetoed three proposed SADs for 2026 at the Feb. 16 city council meeting, leaving the city with a deficit of about $900,000 in its road funding. City Manager David Mackie approached the council to discuss next steps.
“One of the city council’s primary goals is to address the declining quality of the city’s street and infrastructure systems,” Mackie said at the March 3 meeting. “Recent proposals to establish special assessment districts for three proposed 2025-2026 street projects were not approved. The outcome of these proposals created uncertainty regarding how the city should proceed with future street improvements.”
Ward 3 Councilman Bob Flynn asked whether citizens who would be willing to pay SADs in order to fix their roads more quickly could be given a chance to ask for one.
“There’s a possibility that we might have somebody come and say, ‘Hey, we got 51% that want our streets done, so we’ll do a special assessment district.’” Flynn said. “I think that should be left on the table.”
Other members of the council said the assessments should not be considered in road repair discussions, given the public’s sentiments toward them.
“We’re not going to fix SADs. Nobody wants to hear about SADs, for, if not a generation, at least the next year,” Bentley said. “The engineer came on in October. We talked about getting bids out and getting roads done. Are we going to do any roads this year, or are we just going to sit around and talk about the infrastructure under the roads and how to explain it to the people?”
Mackie told The Collegian that city staff plans to present suggested alternatives to SADs at the next city council meeting, scheduled for March 16.
“I think we’re going to have some proposals or options for the next city council meeting,” Mackie said. “We’re currently discussing and vetting those out.”
Ward 4 Councilman Robert Socha said, although government spending can seem overbearing, it is necessary to fix Hillsdale’s roads.
“We do need to spend money to fix the roads, but, again, nobody’s shown me anywhere to cut the budget to come up with the $900,000 shortfall,” Socha said.
Mackie told The Collegian that the council is ultimately the deciding factor when it comes to allocating city funds.
“Could cuts be made to the city budget? Sure. You could always make cuts. But it has to be a decision that the public as a whole, through their representatives, are comfortable with,” Mackie said.
Joshua Waechter ’20, a Hillsdale resident and graduate student, said SADs should be done away with entirely, and that city staff should look seriously into cutting city spending.
“No one wants SADs. Nothing you can say will make people want SADs. They’ve made that abundantly clear,” Waechter said. “You need to find spending to cut. That’s what you should be directing the city manager to do. Come back with budget items to cut to fund road repairs, because that is the priority, not other things the city does.”
