The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) last week unanimously approved the agency’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget, including funding for two projects in Lyon Township.
The $178 million budget represents a slight decrease from the current year’s budget of $180.2 million adopted in September of last year. According to a RCOC press release, the 2023 budget is less primarily due to a decrease in federal road funds, which fluctuate from year to year and are awarded on a project-by-project basis.
RCOC anticipates receiving just over $122 million in state road funding in fiscal year 2023, compared to almost $115 million received in the current year. State road funding is derived primarily from state-collected fuel taxes, vehicle-registration fees and state General Fund dollars.
The state dollars continue to represent RCOC’s largest source of funding and its main funding source for operations.
The remaining revenue making up the budget comes from local community contributions ($13.2 million) federal funds ($27.1 million), the contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to maintain state highways in the county ($12.5 million) and fees and other revenues ($3.1 million).
The 2023 budget includes nearly $51.4 million in annual contributions toward safety-focused road-improvement projects, including the repair and resurfacing of Grand River Ave., from Napier Road to Wixom Road in Wixom. The $3.9 million project includes extending the center and left-turn lanes.
Also on the list for next year is preventative maintenance on the Grand River bridge over Kent Lake Road and culvert replacement along Grand River Ave. over a tributary to Kent Lake. Both of those projects, which will cost over a million dollars in total.
$40.8 million in the budget is for road maintenance efforts such as pothole patching, gravel road grading and salting and plowing in the winter; and $16.8 million for maintaining traffic signs, signals, pavement markings and guardrails among other activities.
The remainder of the budget is dedicated to operating expenses including customer services, vehicle maintenance, staff wages, buildings and grounds and administration.
The RCOC’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
The budget is available in the “Financials” section of the RCOC website, www.rcocweb.org.
