The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) Board of Road Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on its proposed fiscal year 2014 budget on Thursday, August 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Auditorium, 1200 North Telegraph in Pontiac.
The proposed 2014 budget, at just over $108 million, includes plans for more than $40 million worth of road improvement projects such as road widening, reconstruction or gravel road paving or work toward future road improvement projects; $18.2 million for road maintenance efforts such as pothole patching, gravel road grading and salting and plowing in the winter; and $9 million for maintaining traffic signs, signals, pavement markings and guardrails among other activities.
This budget represents an increase of about $5 million compared to the $103.1 million 2013 budget adopted in September of last year. The 2014 proposed budget is more than the 2013 budget primarily due to an anticipated slight increase in state-collected road funding and because of an increase in federal road funding coming to the agency. Federal funds are awarded on a project-by-project basis, and these funds cannot be used to maintain the county’s roads.
The RCOC fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30. Final approval of the 2014 budget will take place in September.
RCOC Board Chairman Greg Jamian will preside over the budget hearing. During the hearing, RCOC Managing Director Dennis Kolar will provide an analysis of the proposed budget and the agency’s financial situation.
Deputy Managing Director/County Highway Engineer Gary Piotrowicz will review the proposed 2014 Road Improvement Program. The Board of Road Commissioners will then receive questions or comments from those in attendance.
Copies of the proposed 2014 budget and a complete list of projects proposed for 2014 will be available at the hearing.
About Sarah Hovis