ROAD MAINTENANCE FOR SUMMIT TOWNSHIP
Join us to Reinforce our Roads
Didn't we Just have a Road Millage?
Why didn't that cover maintenance too?
In 2017, township voters approved a bond millage to rebuild all 120 miles of local (secondary) roads. The millage was approved at 2.83 mills ($1 in tax for each $1000 in taxable value of property) to last 16 years. It took slightly more than 3 years to rebuild all of the local roads. (Primary roads such as Kibby, Badgley, McCain etc. are the responsibility of the county.) As the principal is paid down on the bonds, the millage rate has slowly dropped each year and will be 2.03 on the Winter 2025 taxes. This rate is expected to continue to drop until the last bond payment in 2033, where the millage disappears completely.
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Proceeds from the millage were legally obligated to bond payments only. The total cost of the project was $31 million with Summit being responsible for 70%, or $22 million. If a maintenance fund were to be created in 2017 it would have had to been a separate millage. The roads were rated for a 20-year estimated life. After 8 years with Michigan weather, it is time to begin placing a chip seal cap on all of the roads. A plan has been developed by the county DOT to accomplish this through a roughly 8–10 year rotation where the oldest roads are done first. And once this is complete, another round of maintenance is envisioned where the life of the roads can be extended beyond the 20 years.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED MILLAGE
120
Miles of Local Roads Chip Seal Applied
.5 Mills
Millage Rate
10
Years
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to sustain our Summit Township Roads. This is an investment that began back in 2017 when Summit Residents voted to adopt a road millage. With continued support we can maximize YOUR investment, stewarding your resources to the best of our ability. Our roads have been rebuilt, but now need our attention once more.
Example of a Chip Seal Cap completed on Woodale Drive in August
Example of the little cracks that signal the beginning of deterioration
Summit township voters will be asked on November 4th 2025 to approve 0.5 mills to a legally restricted fund to finance the road maintenance program. The term will be for 10 years, but unlike the bond millage, a renewal request will be needed. The estimated cost of one cycle of capping all 120 miles is $4 million. That equates to essentially $400,000 per year. The millage rate will generate roughly $450,000, in anticipation of inflation over time.
So, what are we Asking For?
.5 MILLS for 10 YEARS
What Will It Cost Homeowners?
Taxable value of $100,000 ($200,000 market value) would cost $50 a year-(less than $5 dollars a month.)
One Gallon of Gas / Month
Taxable value of $150,000 ($300,000 market value) would cost $75 a year (or $6.25 a month.)
One Coffee / Month
Taxable value of $200,000 ($400,000 market value) would cost $100 a year (less than $9 a month.)
One Meal Out-to-Eat / Month
If we do not take action we will risk wasting your investment. As it is, our roads are starting to crack. As you are well aware, Michigan winters are tough on roads. The cracks that we're already seeing will freeze and expand and cause our roads to buckle, creating more damage, ultimately leading to higher costs for Summit Township Residents.