The Tax Question

We are all sensitive to the amount of taxes we pay, and some are downright upset. Statements similar to the following are frequently heard: “I pay all these taxes; why can’t I get my road fixed?”

Let’s first look at which taxes are used to maintain roads. Many people don’t realize that their property taxes do not go to the Road Commission. County road maintenance and improvements are primarily funded by the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF). MTF Funds are made up of a flat State collected fuel tax (No matter what a gallon of gas costs, you only pay a flat rate per gallon.) and vehicle license plate fees which are distributed by the State.

There is a total of 37.3 cents per gallon tax on gasoline sold within the State of Michigan. This amount consists of 19 cents for State tax and 18.3 cents for Federal tax. The bulk of the Federal Fuel Tax goes to MDOT for projects on State Highways (freeways with an “M”, “I” or “US” in their names such as M-72, I-75, or US-127). Of the 19 cent State tax approximately 6 cents goes to MDOT, 6 cents is spread among Michigan’s 83 county road commissions, 3 1/2 cents is split between 533 cities and villages, 2 cents is dedicated to public transit, 1 cent finances road projects critical to economic development, and 1/2cent supports local bridges, railroad crossings, and recreational areas. According to this breakdown, less than 1/3 of the monies generated by the gas tax must be split among the 83 counties in Michigan for use on our primary roads system.

As for the local road system, some cities and villages supplement their MTF revenues with additional funds from millages, income tax, or some other source, as MTF funds were not sufficient to maintain their street systems. Since CCRC is not a part of the county general government, there is no additional funding for maintenance supplementation.

It is a common misconception that property taxes automatically go for roads. It is true that some of those funds that a city or village government might use on its streets could be property taxes. Those streets are maintained by the city/local government and are not maintained by the Crawford County Road Commission. The city, township, and village are separate entities from the Road Commission. Thus, no property taxes are available to CCRC for snow removal, pothole patching, etc. However, it is true that if a township chooses to contribute to a specific CCRC road construction project, some property taxes may be used through the local road cost-sharing program in the form of a special assessment originally petitioned by property owners.

Crawford County does not get back all the State collected fuel taxes and license plate fees it generates and sends to Lansing. The taxes and fees are collected and redistributed amongst the counties through a formula known as ACT 51. 

Additional Road Commission Funding Information