The Leelanau County Road Commission approved its 2025 budget Tuesday. The county road commission is budgeting less for cost share projects this year. The road commission primarily takes care of the county’s primary roads — highways and county roads (CRs) — but they sometimes bear a portion of the costs on local road improvement projects taken up by townships.
This year, just $179,650 was included in the budget for cost share projects. In 2023, $385,609 was included for this item. This year, $320,000 was included in the budget. Road Commission Manager Brendan Mullane had anticipated less funds would be available this year due to fewer Rural Task Force dollars.
Road Commissioner Garth Greenan said that putting more of their budget in this area would encourage townships to apply for more cost-share agreements and continue working on local roads.
Road commission Finance Director Susan Boyd said that budget is currently very tight, but since it’s amended throughout the year to reflect changes in revenues, they could add more to this line item later.
The road commission recently adopted a new local road costsharing policy to “promote proactive planning by the townships and allocate an equitable share of available funds.” Mullane has also said these changes came in response to the misconception that the road commission must provide an equal match on cost share projects.
The road commission’s contribution is limited to a maximum of a 50% match, but their actual contribution may be less than that, depending on the availability of funds and outside factors.
The road commissioners adopted a budget with total revenues at $9,188,259 and total expenditures at $9,294,354, according to the budget resolution. Boyd said the budget takes into consideration the road commission’s increased costs and “plateauing” Michigan Transportation Funds (MTF).
This year’s budget included a total revenue of $9,041,228 and total expenditures of $9,464,559. But as of the Tuesday meeting, the total revenues were projected at $9,116,387 and the total expenditures were projected at $8,637,943. The county board also approved the year-end budget adjustments Tuesday.
Reduced MTF payments were the cause of the biggest declines in road commission revenues, including a $45,000 decrease in MTF primary road revenues and a $66,000 decrease in MTF local road revenues. Boyd said that she does not anticipate that these revenues, which come from transportation taxes, will drop further. However, she said they are prepared for that eventuality.
Mullane reported that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is postponing their closure of a section of M-72 west of the M-22 intersection in Greilickville to mid-January. This road closure is planned so contractors can move utilities out of the way before the MDOT starts installing a roundabout at this intersection in spring 2025.
Mullane said that no start date for the project has been determined as of Tuesday, but it will likely result in four weeks of road closures. He said that the county road commission will announce the closure and release detour routes when they receive additional information.
Also at their Dec. 17 meeting, the Leelanau County Road Commission:
• Scheduled the road commission’s organizational board meeting for Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. Mullane said the road commission will appoint officers and approve its 2025 meeting schedule at this meeting.
•Approved an agreement with MDOT for work on CR 626, or Omena Road, between Jacobson and Overlook roads.
