9/23/14 - The Livingston County Board of Commissioners devoted most of their meeting last night to a presentation on the state and future of road funding in Michigan. The presentation was given by Livingston County Road Commission Managing Director Mike Craine as well as Carmine Palombo, the deputy director for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. They described the poor state of roads in Michigan and Livingston County, the disparity between the funding provided and the amount needed, and what needed to happen in the future to reverse the damage. Palombo tells WHMI we cannot continue to rely on the gas tax in an era of decreased demand and increasing fuel efficiency. Among those in attendance were outgoing state representatives Bill Rogers and Cindy Denby as well as Republican and Democratic candidates for several races. State House seat candidate Hank Vaupel says he supported a recommendation by the presenters that lawmakers look at the possibility of diverting some of the sales tax on fuel to road repairs. His opponent, Democrat Jordan Genso, said he would have to examine the impact of such a move before endorsing it, but he was glad both sides agree that more needs to be done about road funding. The presenters said the number of states that actually charge sales tax on fuel is actually very small, and diverting some of that to roads would increase repair funding without costing residents more at the pump. (TD)
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