HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Residents in Harrison Township say the roads have been getting worse for years — and they want answers.
Watch Whitney Burney's video report:
"I would say they've been getting worse and worse as the years go on," Michael Campbell, a Harrison Township resident, said.
Campbell is not alone. After 7 News Detroit visited the area last week, we were flooded with emails and Facebook comments about the poor conditions of the roads and questions about what the township is doing to fix them.
"Lots of ruts. Lots of clay. Whenever it rains, it just turns into a muddy mess," Campbell said as he described roads in the township.
Fellow resident Bradley Clary said the conditions are the worst he has ever seen.
"They sometimes get repaired, little potholes. They come down, the little guy with the shovel and basically fill in the deepest hole, but that's about it," Clary said.
Clary described what it is like to drive the roads every day.
"What's going through your mind as you're kind of bumping and chugging along," 7 News Detroit Anchor Whitney Burney asked.
"Do I have internal injuries because it is just that bumpy," Clary said jokingly.
It is an issue neighbors say they have been begging for a solution to for years.
"The biggest complaint that we get is on the local roads," Township Supervisor Kenneth Verkest said. "The state of Michigan gives money directly to cities and cities have the responsibility for their own roads. That’s usually incorporated with their road millage or a part of their funding that actually property taxes go to roads. In townships, the county agencies receive money for their roads. So, there is no money that flows directly to Harrison Township for roads and from our gas tax."
Verkest says the funding model for townships in Michigan does not leave much for local road repairs.
"The road funding was designed to make locals or Southeast Michigan in general, kind of more urban areas, donors to other parts of the state. We generate enough funds here locally but unfortunately, or fortunately for some parts of the state, some of those funds flow to more rural parts of the state. So that’s one part of the challenge," Verkest said. "The frustrating part about that is while I can tell you how it’s happening and how frustrating it is, the state has not empowered the locals to be able to solve that problem."
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Verkest says in addition to this, the state recently made changes eliminating the sales taxes from gas tax while raising the gas tax. He says because of this change, Harrison Township has lost over $178,000 annually. Even still, at least three road repairs are on deck to be worked on this year.
"When I came in, I thought well hey, we can do better than this, and we can. The problem is those problems with road funding are not at a local level. They are at a state level. We don't even collect a general fund millage. This isn't a problem I can solve unless everyone in Harrison Township wants to pay more in taxes and I think we know the answer to that," Verkest said.
Another road residents say they would like to see repaired is Jefferson Avenue, which is a Macomb County road.
"This time of year, the roads in Macomb County as well as other communities are horrible," Bryan Santo, director of the Macomb County Department of Roads, said.
That repair is already set for this summer. Santo also added that Michigan counties are expecting a 30% to 35% increase in funding soon from the state's new Neighborhood Road Fund, which funnels gas tax and registration fees to local governments for road repairs.
"We're looking forward to that new funding, being able to make headway and move the needle as far as the road conditions in Macomb County as well as the state. Just bare with us," Santo said.
Back in Harrison Township, Clary had a message for state leaders.
"If Gretch wants to fix the roads, she can start with this one," Clary said as he stood on Winkler Road.
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