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Municipal League presses for neighborhood‑scale funding, proposes 50¢ delivery fee to target local streets
Summary
The Michigan Municipal League told the committee city and village streets — which make up most local miles — need targeted funding. The League proposed a neighborhood roads fund, modeled in part on other states, that would use a small retail delivery fee to raise dedicated dollars for local non‑federal roads.
John LaMackie of the Michigan Municipal League told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that cities and villages manage the bulk of neighborhood streets and that federal and state programs do not sufficiently reach non‑federal, neighborhood roadways.
LaMackie said cities and villages collectively manage more than 21,000 miles of road and emphasized that roughly two‑thirds of local roads are not federal‑aid‑eligible. He said that while cities and villages already use general fund dollars, bonds and local millages to pay for roads, those sources are uneven and often inadequate for widespread neighborhood needs.
The League proposed a neighborhood roads fund that would target funding to non‑federal, residential streets. As one possible revenue mechanism the League described a 50¢ retail delivery fee modeled on Colorado’s program and noted the League’s estimate that such a fee could generate about $275 million annually in Michigan. LaMackie said the League designed the proposal so it could work with either new revenue or by redirecting existing resources and recommended exemptions for very small businesses and new businesses, mirroring Colorado’s approach.
LaMackie also stressed the importance of coordinating surface and underground infrastructure work so cities do not repave streets only to have them cut again soon after for water, sewer or stormwater projects. He said planners should direct investment to reuse existing water‑system capacity when feasible and consider multi‑modal goals for Main Street and economic development impacts when designing projects.
The League urged lawmakers to consider neighborhood‑scale targeting in whatever statewide funding package emerges and to account for constitutional revenue‑sharing, school funding and local backfill needs when shifting sales‑tax or other revenue sources.
Committee members asked about who would pay a delivery fee, how much cities currently spend on roads and what a typical per‑mile neighborhood replacement cost might be; LaMackie said local answers vary but suggested a million dollars a mile is plausible for some projects depending on scope and context.
The League said it stands ready to work with lawmakers on formula design, exemptions and distribution methods to ensure funds reach neighborhood streets rather than producing a diffuse "peanut butter" allocation across thousands of local agencies.
