Page 198 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

State Policies – Page
112
#96 COUNTY ROAD COMMISSIONS
1 The board of county road commissioners is a unit of
2 local government responsible for maintenance and
3 construction of most roads within a county. Michigan is
4 the only state in the country to utilize a county road
5 commission structure. The three or five-member
6 boards have six-year staggered terms and are, in most
7 cases, appointed by the county board of
8 commissioners.
9 Public Acts 14 and 15 of 2012 allows a county board
10 of commissioners to assume the duties of the county
11 road commission. We continue to support a system of
12 local control selection.
13 We encourage local governments to continue to look
14 for increased efficiencies in government by prioritizing
15 services, reforming where possible, eliminating
16 duplicative services, and utilizing private partners.
17 We believe each county overseen by a road
18 commission should have the option to decide if it needs
19 a three or five-member county road commission. These
20 should be by district, regardless of population, and
21 representative of all areas of the county. Commission
22 members should serve four-year staggered terms.
23 We encourage the local road agency to work in
24 coordination with all pertinent county agencies (e.g.,
25 drain commission), townships, local planning, zoning
26 boards, county Farm Bureaus, and affected property
27 owners in order to minimize road construction costs and
28 gather public input.
29 We believe the local road agency must dedicate
30 themselves to using the most economical means
31 possible to establish and maintain an efficient
32 transportation system.
33 We believe the local road agency should utilize
34 Michigan Department of Transportation’s Asset
35 Management Program, or a similar program, to annually
36 evaluate conditions of all roads and dispersal of funds
37 under their jurisdiction and report such findings to the
38 public. 
#97 FARM AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
As farm suppliers and markets become fewer and farther between, distances farmers must travel for supplies, services and markets have increased substantially.
In October 2012, federal law provided exemption of driver and vehicle standards for covered farm vehicles. We support the development of a state of Michigan covered farm vehicle designation to cover rented and commercially plated vehicles used for agriculture.