The answer to this question can be found in a state law called Public Act 51 of 1951.  When we pay gas taxes and our annual car registration, PA 51 serves as the distribution formula for these road dollars.  The main problem is, PA 51 distributes funding based on the length of roads, not the width.  As a result, rural counties receive the same amount of money per mile for their two-lane roads, as we receive for our five-lane roads.  

In addition to sending the money derived in Macomb County to the far reaches of our state, this 73-year old law has even more provisions that disadvantage communities like ours.  

A few years ago, I was asked to assemble and Chair the Establishing Quality Roadways Committee, intended to identify how roads are funded, how the dollars flow, and who is making the decisions on which road projects receive funding.  We brought in road experts from any place we could find them.  By understanding the process better, we believed we could better compete for the limited road dollars that are available, and utimately fix more of the roads in our community.  

We graphically mapped road funding.  As you can see in the illustration below, it’s complicated.  So the best way to understand this is to break it down.  This led to the creation of a roads presentation and a series of video segments that can be found on the Township’s website here and here.

Producing Results on the Main Roads

Often, it’s the work behind the scenes that can produce the most results.  Through a combination of a better planning method (created by our Establishing Quality Roadways Committee) and using federal infrastructure dollars to meet the required local community match, we’ve been able to pull more of the State and Federal dollars administered by Macomb County into Clinton Township, dramatically accelerating the pace of getting our main roads fixed.

From 2008 to 2022, the Township spent $9 million to secure $27 million in road funding from other sources.  

From 2023 to present, the Township has come up with more than $6 million to bring in an additional $22 million in funding from other sources. 

Main Roads Completed

• Gratiot
• Groesbeck
• Hall Road
• Garfield
• Hayes
• Clinton River Rd
• Quinn Rd
• Harper Bridge, over Spillway
• Cass Ave. Bridge and Road

Road Projects On-Tap

• Kelly, 14 Mile  to 15 Mile (in partnership with Fraser)
• Kelly, 15 Mile to S. Nunnely
• 14 MIle Rd (in partnership with Roseville)
• 18 Mile Rd
• Moravian, Garfield to Hayes
• 15 Mile Rd
• Harper, 15 Mile to Crocker

No More Arbitrary Decision Making

Prior to the work of our Committee, calls for projects issued by the County Department of Roads were met with a few elected officials and township staff getting together and making decisions based on arbitrary factors, like how many calls we received about a particular road.  Our committee recognized that this process needed to change, so we developed a scoring process, based on data, to determine which main roads should be fixed first. When there is a call for projects now, we look at the data to develop a score, considering factors like road conditions, traffic counts, crash data, asset management (water and sewer lines get repaired at the same time), flood risks, community assets, and equity formulas.

We Desperately Need Subdivision Dollars

While I am proud of the transformative progress we’ve made competing for existing dollars for main roads, it cannot obscure the fact that almost 50% of the subdivision streets in our community are ranked poor to failed.  Nor can we overlook the fact that residents are often subjected to large car repair bills from our deteriorating subdivision streets.  

Under our state funding formula, PA 51, all public roads, including subdivision streets in Townships are under the jurisdiction of the Macomb County Department of Roads, and require the creation of a Special Assessment Districts where residents have to pay, based on the feet of frontage of their property on a given street.  

This is a burdensome process and an incredibly expensive proposition for most families. While it is unlikely that a solution can be found to completely absolve residents from paying at least a portion of these costs, we desperately need to find a way to lower this amount for residents.  The most important step is fixing PA 51 in a way that returns a fairer allocation of road dollars to where they actually originate. Making sure legislators know that this is an issue is one that their residents are paying attention to and demanding action on.  

Here’s How You Can Help!

After checking out our presentation or videos, we’ve made it easy for you to communicate directly with your legislators, by going to:  https://www.clintontownship.com/482/What-Can-I-Do.  There you can look up your State Rep. and State Senator, customize the form letter and with a few more clicks, send your thoughts to lawmakers.

As Clinton Township Treasurer, I’ve driven this issue at the local level and legislators are beginning to take notice.  As Supervisor, I’ll be in a higher profile position to continue raising awareness and pushing for the legislative changes we need to fix our roads. Your support for my campaign amplifies my voice on your behalf.  

So, please take every opportunity you can to enjoy your family and friends during the Independence Day Holiday. After a recharge, help me build a better community by engaging in the fight– to fix our roads and electing people who will put in the work each day.    

Happy Independence Day,

Paul Gieleghem