Mount Pleasant officials support Prop 15-1 after Cotter presentation
City council listens as House Speaker Kevin Cotter speaks about road funding on March 23 at the city hall building
Mount Pleasant's city commission passed a resolution of support for a May 5 ballot proposal which might help repair Michigan's crumbling roads.
Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution after a presentation from House Speaker Kevin Cotter during Monday's City Commission meeting.
Cotter R, Mount Pleasant, presented each facet of Proposal 1, also known as "Proposal 1 for Safer Roads." If passed, the initiative will raise the state's sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. It also will increase driver registration fees and eliminate the tax on gasoline and diesel fuels.
The proposal, Cotter said, is expected to raise $2.1 billion in new revenue for the state in fiscal year 2015-16, with $367.8 million of that revenue going to road improvements. Out of that portion, Isabella County would receive $1.6 million per year for road improvements. That amount would be increased to $2.66 million after two years.
A previous plan passed in 1997 taxed gas at 19 cents for road repairs, but was not protected against inflation, Cotter said. Over the years, the lack of funds have created a safety issue the state can no longer ignore.
"When you look at the issue of the roads, we can see that they have indeed deteriorated as the funding has plummeted," Cotter said. "We can't simply put it off as a deferred expense. If we put it off, the cost of repairs go up."
Some voters, and members of Cotter's own party, voiced opposition to 15-1. The opposition came mostly from the tax increase and the number of new laws it would enact. Cotter told city commissioners he supports the plan, even if it isn't ideal.
"Road funding has probably been the biggest issue that has gone unaddressed over the period of time that I've been in the legislature," Cotter said. "I support this plan, but at the same time, I would say this is not a perfect solution. When we're looking at the sheer size of this problem, it will require all of us voting on this outside of our definition of perfect."
City commissioners sent a resolution to Lansing in December asking legislators not to support any new road funding mechanism that took away money from public school districts. Proposal 1 will increase revenues to the School Aid Fund by more than $200 million per year over the next three years. The SAF helps fund public school districts, special education community colleges, vocational schools and other education training programs.
An additional $89.9 million would be used for local government revenue sharing in the first year.
Some commissioners remained skeptical this was the best solution to address the state's roads.
"I'm really conflicted on this proposal," said Commissioner Matthew Sous. "A lot of the things it accomplishes could have been accomplished without a statewide ballot vote.
"The things it does do, like repairing the roads and increasing tax credits for low income families, should have never been been cut in the first place."
Sous said he would still support Proposal 1 even with its flaws.
"I think about if it's not passed, then what would they come up with next?" he said. "That's a terrible reason to vote for something. The question mark is just too scary."
Commissioner Tony Kulick shared some of Sous' reservations.
"The biggest problem is that the legislature drank the Kool-Aid, promised to never raise taxes and pushed it back on the citizens," Kulick said. "They shirked their responsibilities by doing this."
Mayor of Mount Pleasant Jim Holton said he hated the proposal at first, but was moved to support the measure when he realized that the alternatives were grim.
"The alternative is there is no alternative, and the ones that are out there are all bad," he said. "I was going to take a neutral position, but even if I was not on city commission or (the) mayor, I would support this."
