Isabella County Commission resolve to support Prop 1
Isabella County commissioners passed a resolution in support for Michigan's controversial road funding proposal at Tuesday's County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Five of the seven county officials voted in favor of the resolution, which urged county voters to help pass Proposal 1 on the May 5 election ballot.
Proposal 1's sales tax increase and its attached legislation has been the center of controversy for voters, pundits and law makers across the state. Commissioners in favor of Prop 1 and the county resolution agreed the measure was Michigan's last best chance to fix its crumbing roads despite its flaws.
"There's a reason why its not pretty — It’s a compromise," said Commissioner Michael Fisher of District 7. "That's not easy these days. If our state and our county want to compete globally and nationally going forward, we have to address the biggest issue in our state."
Besides paying off existing road repair debt creating a steady funding source for future road construction, Proposal 1's local impact could be huge for Isabella County.
"What I’m interested in is the fact that $3.6 million dollars will come to Isabella County (if Proposal 1 passes)," said Board Chair George Green of District 1. "That means a lot of (new) work in this county. We passed two mills that wasn’t even that much — this will gives up to half a million dollars more than what two mills would do."
District 5 Commissioner James Mereno asked representatives from the Isabella County Road Commission and the county's Farm Bureau to attest to the positive aspects of Proposal 1.
Road Commissioner Bob Curtis said the ICRC could increase its workforce if voters can pass Prop 1. When he began his work with the road commission, Curtis said the group had nearly 66 crew members. At present, the ICRC only has 32 crew members.
"This will help us get our crew back up to a higher standard," he said.
Commissioners Jim Horton of District 4 and John Haupt of District 2 both voted against the county's resolution. Haupt said he voted in opposition because his constituents were put off by the complicated measure.
Horton, while in favor of Proposal 1, said the wording of the county's resolution was too argumentative for him to support. He pegged the resolution as playing politics with an issue that was largely non-partisan.
"We walk a slippery slope of what we put in these resolutions," Horton said. "(Resolutions are) nice to acknowledge good things done by those in the community, but when big things come up, we feel like we have to take a stance on one thing or another. It's unnecessary."
District 6 Commissioner David Ling said it was not only the commission's role to take up a stance on these issues, as elected officials, it was their obligation to do so.
