Road commissioners get 40 percent raise

Jul. 21—TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse County Road Commission board members will get raises ranging from 40 percent to 45 percent after a two-hour presentation that provoked questions and critique.

The GTC Board of Commissioners approved the raises Wednesday, setting the annual salary for the chair at $9,000, the vice-chair at $8,500 and other members at $8,000. They are now paid $6,500, $6,000 and $5,500 respectively.

Raises were approved on a 4-2 vote, with commissioners Bryce Hundley and Betsy Coffia voting "no." Commissioner Darryl V. Nelson was absent, as was Administrator Nate Alger, who was out of town on business.

This is the second time the salary increases have been on the commissioners' agenda; the first time on June 1 when the issue was tabled until road commission board members — none of whom attended the June 1 meeting — could be there to answer questions.

On Wednesday, two members were present and Coffia asked Chairman Jason Gillman how taxpayer satisfaction with the road commission is rated and measured.

Coffia said she and other commissioners have heard "a steady drumbeat of constituent concerns about responsiveness from the road commission ... any raises that go beyond cost-of-living should probably be tied to customer satisfaction."

Gillman said complaints should be separated from compensation.

"We're accountable," he said. "We take the same calls that you guys take for the reasons that you take them."

When pushed for an answer, Gillman said, "I don't know how to answer that question. I don't think like you do." He also called the raises a "pittance."

During his report, road commission Manager Brad Kluczynski cited statistics that indicated they get 150 requests for service every month — most of which are about potholes, grading, trees, washouts and road shoulders. Their response time to complete those requests averages 10 days, he said.

On Wednesday, a couple of those constituents who are not happy with road commission service spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, including Sandra Revnell, who said she has been waiting several months for an answer on connecting her 20-acre property with Bannister Road in Long Lake Township.

The property is landlocked by a 10- to 15-foot strip of land owned by the road commission, which has denied a driveway permit and recently suggested putting in a T-turnaround, rather than a cul-de-sac that would have cost Sandra and Justin Revnell $109,000, according to an estimate from 2019.

Revnell said she heard a road commissioner remark at a meeting that the commission has a laissez-faire attitude about various items under their purview.

"Considering it has been 25 weeks since first engaging with the board and nearly seven since the T-turnaround was brought to the table, I'm in full agreement with his statement," Revnell said.

Another resident, Al Howard, lives on Matchett Road, which has deteriorated in recent years, he told the county board, since roads are no longer maintained with tarring, chipping and sealing.

"I am not in favor of any increases for the road commission board members," Howard said.

A schedule of routine maintenance has gone by the wayside, he said. In addition, people who call the commission with a complaint are often told to call their township supervisor.

Kluczynski said people may be referred to townships to ask about larger projects because the township must pay for half of the work on local roads through a cost-sharing plan.

Work in subdivisions is funded through special assessment districts that tax the people who live there, although the road commission has no power to set an assessment district, he said.

"We are not directing them to the township. We are not saying that this is a township issue. We are saying that this road ... this project, if it is done, is a township cost-sharing plan," Kluczynski said.

The commission recently updated that plan so that 120 miles of local roads now require no township match. Most of them are roads that are local, but function as primary roads, Kluczynski said.

All 83 counties in Michigan and 70 larger cities, by law, have to follow Asset Management Council guidelines that say 85 percent of primary roads have to be maintained in good or fair condition before focusing on local, or secondary, roads.

Matchett Road is scheduled for a total reconstruct next year, Kluczynski said.

The county has 290 miles of primary roads, 720 miles of local roads and 345 miles of unpaved gravel roads. By the end of this year, 90 percent of Grand Traverse County primary roads will be in that good to fair condition, an achievement that has put the county in 8th place in the state, Kluczynski said.

A web-based app will soon be in place to allow the public to report issues to the road commission. Users will know when their request for service is received and can track its progress.

Commissioner Brad Jewett said Kluczynski's report was interesting, although took up a lot of meeting time. He suggested that Kluczynski attend more county board meetings, adding that he hasn't seen him at a meeting since before the pandemic.

If he did attend more often, Jewett pointed out, his reports would not have to be so long.