Roads in Oakland Township are primarily the responsibility of Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC). Our Township has no direct authority over the roads.
The Township can however
- Pay our tax money to have “extras” done
- Possibly help us by being our ombudsman for our concerns
“Extras” for our 44 miles of gravel/dirt roads, paid for by our property tax General Fund are:
- dust control chloride treatment ($75,000 per year)
- adding gravel – every five years is recommended ($200,000 per year)
- creating new ditches where none were installed since 1828
What the Road Commission will do without charge is:
- grade our gravel/dirt roads 5 times per year
The three Road Commissioners are appointed by the County Commissioners. After that the County Commissioners have no involvement in roads. Funding is mostly from gasoline taxes, not our property taxes. RCOC says funding is not adequate. See below.
Roads and Road Funding in Oakland County
http://www.rcocweb.org/DocumentCenter/View/188/A-Guide-to-Roads-and-Road-Funding
Road Commission for Oakland County Budget 10/1/2018 to 9/30/2019
http://www.rcocweb.org/DocumentCenter/View/4047/Proposed-Budget-for-2018-19
Subdivision Streets:
If your development is truly a legal subdivision, (not a PUD or Site Condominum) the streets belong to the county. That is the case on our street, Bear Creek Court. But if it needs repaving, the county will say they have no money and 51% of those who live long the street will have to vote to pay for repaving as we did a few years ago. This is called an SAD, Special Assessment District. The Township may kick in a contribution of 10% not to exceed $25,000. Ours cost were about $160,000, divided over 20 homes a few years ago. Payments were over 10 years.
The township can opt to have some small improvements paid for by having a small amount matched by RCOC and County. This is called Tri-Party Funds. The Township often uses these funds to provide gravel.
For big projects like paving Rochester Road or Adams / Gunn roundabout we are asked to pay a portion in the hundreds of thousands or dollars or they won’t do the project. The Gunn Adams roundabout by Delta Kelly School cost about $2,000,000 and Oakland Township was asked to contribute about $350,000.
472 of Michigan’s 1240 Townships have passed tax levy’s to pay their respective Road Commissions for extras not normally provided.
Contact Road Commission here to report problems: (residents report mixed results)
http://www.rcocweb.org/FormCenter/Contact-Us-4/Contact-Us-Form-43
There is constant debate about if RCOC does best job of gravel road maintenance. Her is one answer about how to do it right.
Gravel Road Maintenance Manual – 153 pages – U.S. Department of Transportation
(Trustee Jeanne Langlois discovered this)
gravel road maintennace manual (003)
RCOC annually meets with our Board. The overall purpose is unclear to me. Meeting slides from 2018 below.
Road Commission Meeting with Board of Trustees 4-23-2018 – Slides on pages 97-137 at this link:
BOT PACKET 4-23-2019 – 487018521
Or see it in PDF below.
FOIA Requests to Road Commission
FOIA Coordinator. RCOC Clerk’s office has been designated as the FOIA Coordinator for all RCOC departments and the Board of County Road Commissioners of the County of Oakland. FOIA requests made to the Clerk’s office may be mailed to the Clerk of the Board, FOIA Coordinator, 31001 Lahser Road, Beverly Hills, MI. 48025, faxed to (248) 645-1349, or emailed to smiller@rcoc.org.
See complete 6 page proceedure at this link:
https://www.rcocweb.org/DocumentCenter/View/1263/RCOC-FOIA-Procedures-Guidelines?bidId=
Oakland Township Sentinel 