Goodrich- Village officials said they are not necessarily opposed to transferring road maintenance responsibilities to the county, but they need more information first.
‘We’ve got to look into it,? said Village Council President Ed York. ‘It makes sense if you can consolidate services and get more for your money.?
The discussion follows an invitation to the villages of Gaines, Goodrich and Otisville from the Genesee County Road Commission (GCRC) to take over maintenance of village roads. Village roads are currently maintained by their own Department of Public Works.
According to a letter sent to the three villages and signed by GCRC Manager Director John Daly, ‘In today’s environment of constrained revenues, local units of government must take extraordinary steps to continue to provide services to the residents within their jurisdiction. These steps include reviewing alternative means of service delivery and infrastructure support.
‘Accordingly, if your village is interested in voluntarily transferring the jurisdiction of the public roads currently within your jurisdiction to the jurisdiction of the (GCRC), please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss this opportunity.?
York said the council intends to extend an invitation to Daly to attend their August meeting and explain details of the offer. However, he had some concern as to what priority the village would be given in regards to county-provided road maintenance.
‘If we take care of our own roads, we’re priority one. Where do we fall with the county?? asked York.
Village resident Cathy Johannes, 46, said she wouldn’t mind falling a bit lower on the priority list if it meant saving money.
Johannes said she would like to see the village explore ways to save money through sharing and combining services with other local governing bodies, be it township or county or other villages.
For residents of Atlas Township, county maintenance of roads is already a reality.
‘For the most part, I think (the GCRC) do a pretty darn good job of plowing and general maintenance,? said Atlas Township Paul Amman.
However, Amman said he had to qualify that statement with the understanding that there are only a limited number of employees available to do the work, and the quickness with which the county would respond directly correlates to an assessment of need.
‘I know that they have a limited budget and they’re shorthanded in some places, and I also know that if you have a major snowfall…they have a priority they have to follow. They plow the major roads first…if you live on a dead end road and you have a major snowfall you may not get plowed out that night,? said Amman.
With much of the village comprised of subdivisions and few high traffic roads, it is unknown what priority would be granted to residents living in low-traffic areas.
Village Administrator Jakki Sidge said the village has 11.1 miles of road and receives funding for maintenance of those roads through Act 51 money from the state. Sidge said the village would receive an estimated $62,000 from major roads highway tax and $1,500 in Build Michigan funds for major roads from Act 51, and $34,900 for minor roads and an additional $900 Build Michigan funds from Act 51.
Sidge said revenues and expenses are budgeted this year at $169,208 for major roads, and $80,504 for minor. However, she adds, the major roads had larger- than- typical budgeted revenues and expenses due to road construction and engineering going on this year for projects that have been planned and budgeted for the past five years, with money set aside for these projects.