The
Washtenaw County Board of Road
Commissioners initiated a series of Working Sessions
this spring to review our “Core Services”. The intent of this
exercise was to evaluate all of the primary services and functions
our agency performs to determine if we are consistently
performing the essential tasks that support our statutory charge
and agency mission. This review entailed an in-depth analysis of
our various routine and capital investments to determine if we are
on a financially sustainable path.
On August 4, 2009, the Board of Road Commissioners agreed that the Proposed Service Level Adjustments under consideration were ready for the public comment stage. In total, the Road Commission has conducted five Working Sessions to review current service levels, cost trends, and future revenue projections. Based on this review, it is clear that some services need to be reduced or eliminated. Meanwhile, certain neglected areas should be elevated to a higher priority.
The timing of the Core Services review has been driven by the steadily decreasing amount of Michigan Transportation Funds (MTF) we are receiving. In fact, since 2004 our MTF revenue has decreased annually, so we are now anticipating the same amount of MTF revenue as we received in 2000. The downward trend of our revenue contrasts with our 53% increase in our routine maintenance costs over this same period of time. These trends are shown on the Core Services Review slides.
It goes without saying that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Road Commissions state wide are struggling with the same ongoing revenue shortfalls, largely because the state fuel tax for roadway maintenance has not been increased since 1997. Michigan has one of the lowest fuel taxes in the country. Our gas tax is 19-cents per gallon, while neighboring states, such as Ohio and Wisconsin, are at 28-cents and 30-cents per gallon, respectively.
In recent years, the Washtenaw County Road Commission has been proactive in reducing our fringe rate and overhead rate by a combined 20%. We have implemented many energy saving measures to reduce our utility costs and fuel usage to combat recent inflationary pressures. In spite of these initiatives, our agency must face the fact that we are dependent upon a decreasing revenue stream that is insufficient to maintain our roads, bridges, and equipment. In addition, we have dedicated some of our limited resources towards project activity. While these projects addressed longstanding road and bridge deficiencies, we deferred routine maintenance activities.
Like the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Washtenaw County Road Commission is rapidly approaching a time when we will not have the capacity to match federal grant programs and participate in locally funded initiatives. Returning federal grants and deferring road system improvements would be a huge disservice to the traveling public. For these reasons, the Road Commission has determined it is imperative that we make some service level adjustments now, so we can continue to match grant programs and locally funded initiatives for the foreseeable future.
The Road Commission is accepting public comments on our Proposed Service Level Adjustments, as shown on the Proposed Service Level Adjustments outline. The described services represent those work activities the Road Commission will consider adjusting in order to address certain neglected activities. If you have comments or questions regarding our Proposed Service Level Adjustments, please contact our main office at (734) 761-1500 or via email at webmaster@wcroads.org by September 25, 2009.
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See published Working Sessions:
- Financial Overview
- Asset Management
- Equipment & Facilities
- Employee / Contracted Services
-
Proposed Sustainable Strategies
Read article: Core Services - Working Sessions