A Perfect Storm

Dec. 2, 2007

On Monday night, I talked to an anonymous source who wanted to set the record straight on the Grand Traverse County Road Commission. An insider for the county, he gave a direct and painfully clear message: winter roads would not be cleared nearly as often as we’ve all come to expect, on weekends, nights and holidays.
The next morning, when driving up the steep hill toward West High School with my three-year-old in tow, I was livid. Where were the snowplows? I worried about my sophomore son who was driving with the neighbor girl as I saw a long line of cars slowly snaking down the hill. I listened to 580AM, with people calling in with reports of accidents and one-hour delays; their lives were at stake, and they were angry.
I later found out that the road commission wasn’t at fault for Tuesday’s road disaster. The storm broke in the middle of rush hour - and the ice ironed onto the warm roads. All 40 of the county drivers were ready for the storm and out on the roads at 7 a.m., but their sand and salt were barely touching the glaze.
Yet beyond that perfect storm is a more lasting dilemma. Virtually all the county road commissions in the region are short on money. They reported that our roads will be plowed as usual during the work week, but subdivisions, gravel roads and secondary roads will now go unplowed on weekends, nights and holidays, unless there is a significant heavy snowfall.
WHAT COST ROAD SAFETY?
At issue is funding. Most of the revenue of road commissions comes from vehicle registrations and fuel taxes, which haven’t gone up in a decade. (The gas tax is 19 cents per gallon, diesel is 15 cents.)
The higher gas prices have caused people to cut back on their driving, which has meant a cut in road commission revenue. At the same time, the cost of materials for road construction and maintenance has increased.
“We’ve really been losing money for the past three years. Our fuel and material costs have skyrocketed, we’re in a desperate situation,” said Mary Gillis, the manager of the Grand Traverse Road Commission. “We hate to use the word desperate, but we are trying to make efficiency improvements; trying to provide the same service and attempting to do as much as we can with the little we have.”
Gillis took over about a year ago with the unenviable back story of troubles, including a “lost” pot of money of $471,000 (which turned out to be found, but spent differently than the state intended, but didn’t have to be paid back), as well as lingering acrimony over a proposed four-lane bridge in the Boardman River valley. She also faced serious budget challenges and boldly laid off 10 people last summer (five are back this winter), said Harold Kelly, the road commission’s financial director who served as the interim manager.
“She’s doing a terrific job,” he said. “It’s refreshing to work with a manager who doesn’t commit to spending money we don’t have.”
Gillis said that money was not an issue on Thanksgiving—the county actually budgeted money to be able to pay drivers the triple holiday pay. She said the snowplow drivers out on the road didn’t call in to say how bad conditions were and some drivers were deer hunting. Our source said drivers were called much later than normal, and not all drivers were called.

TRICKLE DOWN DANGER
Regionally, the money crunch has caused road commissions to tighten spending , which has been historically generous in terms of retirement and medical benefits. For example, the three part-time board members of the Grand Traverse County Road Commission receive full health benefits; two will receive full health benefits for their lifetime. (Benefits are decided by the county board.)
Benzie County board members also receive medical benefits, but not for life. John Nuske, a board member, said the annual total expense of about $16,000 per commissioner is justified, given the job responsibilities.
“It’s a pretty nice benefit for a part time job, but it’s an important part-time job affecting all the roads of our county. And it’s not going to make or break any road commission with a budget that’s in the millions. We carefully scrutinize every dollar in Benzie County and I’m very proud we’re operating in a non-crisis mode right now.”
But even Benzie will see a reduction in plowing services, Nuske said.
“It’s a trickle down effect from our legislators’ inability to face a problem and do something to solve it. A problem will turn into a crisis, and today was just a teeny sample of what will happen before the winter is over with. I know in Benzie County, we tried to seek local funding to replace what we get from the state, but the taxpayers spoke and turned down our request. They didn’t want any new taxes. When it comes to the gasoline tax, to tell you the truth, I don’t think you would feel another nickel or dime because the price of gas fluctuates in quarters and 30-cent increments. One week it’s $2.59, another it’s $3.20. A few extra cents isn’t going to kill anybody. But the situation we’re facing right now is going to kill somebody if it hasn’t already. It’s like everything else. No one is going to do anything until something horrible happens.”

SLOW DOWN AND WAIT
Antrim, Emmet, Benzie, and Charlevoix counties have all cut down on night-time, holiday and weekend
plowing. Leelanau County is down a couple of drivers, but still has strong crews because its voters support the road commission with a local millage. Manistee County Road Commission Manager Gerald Peterson said he laid off nearly its entire staff–31 people, including himself–for a week this fall so they’d have enough money to plow. Eleven volunteered to take another week off without pay (all received unemployment).
Brian Gutkowski of Emmet County (where board members have never received health benefits) said that residents were given a heads-up on the service cutbacks, so they’ve taken them in stride. Those affected most are people who live in subdivisions and residents on secondary roads—especially those who must cope with steep hills.
The solution to this? Senator Jason Allen has no answer other than to urge drivers to slow down and to work with local authorities to encourage wise spending, said Norm Saari, his chief of staff.
“We don’t make light of this. It has a serious impact on local residents,
tourism, people who make a living by driving trucks and cars on the road.
The money doesn’t exist in the state, and the sentiment of raising taxes isn’t high right now.”
David Ford, president of Ford Insurance in Traverse City, said that if accidents go up, so will premiums.
“Insurance is one big math problem. The more claims that occur, the higher premiums will go. But that said, people need to take personal responsibility to drive at safe speeds so they don’t wind up in trouble.”
Gutkowski said that salaries and benefits vary widely among counties. All road commissions are now taking a sharp pencil to expenses. Wisely scheduling routes will also be important.
In Grand Traverse County, for example, drivers are now staggered to start at 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. to save money. It would be more effective to start the drivers earlier, at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., to get the roads cleared as much as possible before rush hour traffic, the Grand Traverse County source advised.
The Michigan Department of
Transportation needs to also take a close look at its costs. State employees who plow the road, for example, earn nearly twice as much as county drivers.
If you want to find out the plowing priority of your road, call your road commission and/or check out its website.