To the editor:

On the ballot for the Aug. 2 election is a referendum for the approval of three mills for maintaining roads in Dorr Township. In the spirt of full disclosure, I am a member of the Citizens’ Road Committee, a volunteer group of unpaid concerned citizens who are fed up with Dorr’s industrial strength crappy roads.

The Citizens’ Road Committee has no political ax to grind, no members will benefit from the passage of a millage. All recommendations on the priority of road repair that have been made to the Dorr Township Board are based on a very long study of data, traffic, accident reports, input from citizens, school bus drivers, fire/rescue, County maintenance personnel, and any and all willing to provide information. The number one goal of the committee is to fix the most dangerous roads first. Who lives on what road carried no weight in the decision process. The priority is safety and need.

Let’s discuss the major reasons the good folks in Dorr have for not voting for the millage. The one we have heard the most is, “I pay a lot of property tax use it to maintain the roads.” Our property tax bills are indeed high; however, the township gets less than five pennies on the dollar, and it needs to use every cent to fund the library, parks, police, fire, and all the things for which the township is responsible. Less than 5% is just not enough to properly fund the type of community we all wish to live in.

The State of Michigan allows us to pass a referendum to fund our own road maintenance requirements; every penny and every dollar raised through a millage for the roads goes to the roads and nothing but the roads, that is the law and the committee will closely monitor every penny of it.

Those voting against the millage will say there is a line on our property tax bills for roads; very true, but that is for Allegan County and not one cent goes to Dorr. Not one cent of our state or federal tax goes to non-state or non-county roads in Dorr.

Folks have said why they should pay to pave roads when they live on a paved road already. So how are your paved roads holding up? Are you happy with the pot holes? Eroding shoulders? Unsafe lines of sight resulting in fatality accidents? All roads, no matter how well built, will degrade over time and in Michigan not a very long time. The millage is predominantly for maintaining both currently paved and dirt roads.

The longer preventive maintenance is put off, the more costly it will become. Pay a few pennies a day now or a few dollars a day later, but in the end we will still need to pay. A stitch in time saves nine is true, both in sails and road maintenance.

Some folks will say Dorr has spent money in the past in a way they do not agree with; OK, but keep in mind every cent of a road millage goes to the roads and nothing but the roads. The Township Board has stated publicly that they will honor all the recommendations of the Citizens’ Road Committee in the priority of spending the millage.

All studies and recommendations of the Citizens’ Road Committee are available for review at the Township Hall and every committee meeting is open to the public. At every meeting the public is encouraged to attend and provide input into the entire, extremely open and honest process.

The millage will cost the average taxpayer in Dorr less than the cost of a large pizza per month. It is time for the good folks in Dorr to help each other because no one else will. We need safe roads, and by the way, also a well-equipped Fire Department.

Robert M. Traxler, Dorr Township