TRAVERSE CITY -- County road maintenance will be slashed, as will about 10 jobs through temporary layoffs as Grand Traverse County's Road Commission struggles to erase a deficit that topped $400,000.
Layoffs could have claimed more road workers, but some jobs were saved, thanks to cheaper-than-expected gas, federal stimulus funding, a $25,000 accounting error and elimination of a $25,000 program to track trucks by satellite.
"They did a lot better than I thought they would," said Tim Trudell, chief steward for the road commission's employee union. "I'm glad it's not 18 people."
The biggest savings came from slashing a $600,000 fuel budget by $100,000, a nod to lower fuel prices. Road Commissioner Walter Hooper said the decision could "blow up in our faces" if prices spike again, but if prices hold, the commission could rehire out-of-work employees.
The funding shortfall comes in part from an estimated $200,000 cut in state funding due to lower gas tax revenue and a 2008 bond payment of $455,000 for road paving. The road commission agreed to borrow $4 million for road paving in 2008 after the county board offered to cover half the cost.
Road commission Manager Mary Gillis said layoffs could include some office staff, but road crews will bear the brunt. Fewer workers will be on hand to fill pot holes, maintain road shoulders and gravel roads, clean out road drains and fill cracks.
Road Commissioner Dave Taylor said he's concerned that reduced maintenance will hurt roads' shelf-life. The county hasn't done any seal coating -- the process of laying a protective layer of tar and stone chips on roads -- since 2005.
"If we're not doing any maintenance on our roads, we're letting them go to hell," Taylor said.
The commission hasn't replaced any trucks since 2006, and agreed it won't put off plans to buy two pickups and two plow trucks this year.
"You just can't allow your equipment to go downhill to the point we don't have any fleet at all," said road board Chairman Jim Maitland.
The board also considered delaying a project on a portion of Cedar Run Road, which carries a $270,000 local match.
The commission already spent most of the local match money in the $1.4 million Cedar Run Road project, said Harold Kelly, the commission's finance director. All that remains is a $79,000 right-of-way purchase.
Maitland said it made no sense to lose more than $1 million in state funding to save $79,000, particularly since the commission has tried for seven years to correct the curves and slopes on Cedar Run Road.
The board also rejected cuts to winter snow plowing.
"Reducing the level of service for winter maintenance is not a popular option," Gillis said.
