Votes Are In: Royal Oak Officials to Ask for Special Road Improvement Levy

The majority ruled on Monday, when Royal Oak commissioners voted to ask voters to sell 10-acres of the 50-acre Normandy Oaks Golf Course and to agree to a tax increase for road maintenance.

Voters will decide the two issues in the Nov. 4 general election.

City commissioners Peggy Goodwin and Dave Poulton don’t agree with the  the 10-year tax hike for road repairs. They want to wait and see if the state Legislature raises gas taxes and allocates more money to local government for road repairs, the Daily Tribune reports.

However city commissioners do agree that whatever happens with funding for statewide road maintenance, there won’t be sufficient funding for Royal Oak to fix its roads.

“I think the state is going to do something but we have to take ownership for our streets,” said Mayor Jim Ellison. “I think the state will come through with something but I don’t think it will be enough.”

If approved by voters, $5 million would be raised annually over 10 years of increased taxes, the Daily Tribune reports.  That’s enough money to make nearly 200 miles of road improvements.

“This has been discussed many times at many meetings and in many documents,” City Manager Don Johnson said. “Suffice it to say that we can barely afford to plow, sweep and patch potholes. We have no ability to do major repairs or replacements, which are very badly needed.”

Unlike other communities in the region, Royal Oak doesn’t use local funding for road maintenance. Johnson said he doesn’t expect state Legislature to offer any funding for local roads in Royal Oak.

“If I’m wrong and the state Legislature does provide the funding needed,” he said, “the city commission will have the option to levy only part of the road tax or to not levy it at all.”

City officials have been trying to find a solution to address Royal Oak’s crumbling roads for more than a year.

City Engineer Matt Callahan presented figures during a budget meeting in May based on a study done using the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Review system.

Royal Oak has 214 miles of roads. On a rating system of 1 to 10, with 10 representing roads in excellent condition, the city’s roads received an average of 4.8. According to Callahan, there is no return for a road with a 4 rating.

To maintain the average road in Royal Oak would require $3 million annually. The last time Royal Oak voters approved money for road work was in the 1980s.