The state legislature finalized the 2018 – 2019 fiscal year budget this week, which begins on October 1st. As revenues were slightly higher than expected, lawmakers took the opportunity to put more money into our transportation network. A total of $330 million more will go into next year’s construction season. This is in addition to the $175 million the legislature and Governor passed earlier this year for the current construction season.
The money breaks down through the traditional road funding formula, splitting money between MDOT, county road agencies and locals. In total, $117 million will go towards MDOT, $117 million will go to the counties and a little more than $65 million in additional money will go to cities and villages. The additional money will be appropriated to the various entities on October 1, 2018. Some had argued during the debate that all the money should go to the local levels and the counties, as those networks are in worse shape than our highway system, but the legislature decided to go with the normal distribution method.
The move to put additional money into the transportation budget from the general fund is an acceleration of the 2015 road funding package that passed the legislature and adds $1.2 billion more to transportation, once fully implemented in 2021. $600 million of that new money is statutorily dedicated to come from the general fund. As that plan went through the legislature, MITA warned policy makers that the money wasn’t enough and that a long-term solution adding more money each year would have to be looked at in the near future. While this additional money is good for the industry, it is a long way away from solving our infrastructure problems in Michigan.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@thinkmita.org, or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@thinkmita.org. They both can be reached at 517-347-8336.
