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2018 Local Road Millage

Farmington Hills Road Statistics

• 378 miles of public roads

• Roads are owned by various agencies

▫ State of Michigan – 49 Miles

▫ Road Commission for Oakland County – 30 Miles

▫ City of Farmington Hills – 299 Miles

(Major Roads and Local Roads)

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Road Jurisdiction Map

49 Miles MDOT

30 Miles RCOC

299 Miles City

City-Owned Roads

• The City of Farmington Hills is responsible for 299 miles of public roads

• Roads fall into several categories▫ Major roads

(i.e. 13 Mile Road, 11 Mile Road, Drake Road, etc.)

▫ Local roadsNeighborhood or subdivision streets

▫ City gravel roads

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Property Tax Dollars

• About 1/3 of property tax payments stay with the City

• 50% goes toward education

• 15% goes toward County services

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Current City Road Funding

• State Road Revenue (ACT 51) passed to City:▫ Fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees▫ Pays for road operations and maintenance

Snow plowing and salting, patching, crack sealing, gravel road grading, forestry and landscaping, road striping, traffic signals, and signs

• Federal and State Grants (Major Roads):▫ Awarded on a project-by-project basis▫ Fluctuates year to year▫ Can only be used for qualifying projects

• 2014 Road Millage – 2.0 Mills▫ Major mile road reconstruction▫ Improved preventative maintenance and reconstruction on City major mile

roads ▫ Improved preventative maintenance on City local roads▫ City match (20%) on road Special Assessment Districts

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Pavement Management Process

• Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER)

▫ Standard method used to collect road surface condition data

▫ Visual assessment of road surface on a scale of 1-10

▫ 10 is new construction and 1 is totally failed

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City Road Conditions

• Approximately 299 miles of City-owned roads▫ 178 miles asphalt▫ 100 miles concrete▫ 21 miles gravel

• Neighborhood roads (243 miles)▫ 129 miles “Poor” (PASER 1-4)

94 miles of the 129 are local roads PASER 2.75 or less

▫ 71 miles “Fair” (PASER 5-7)▫ 21 miles “Good” (PASER 8-10)▫ 22 miles Gravel

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Comparison to Other Cities

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Network Miles Current Average PASER

Livonia** 370 6.7

Novi* 171 6.4

Troy* 327 5.3

Farmington* 21 5.5

Royal Oak* 212 4.8

Farmington Hills 299 4.7

Southfield* 247 4.6

* Existing Local Road Millage** Livonia is 15 years into a $4M/year program. 2002 PASER rating was 5.5

Current Local Road Realities

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• Local roads are in very poor condition• Current City Charter language requires

special assessments of benefiting property owners to reconstruct local roads▫ Unpopular▫ Time consuming▫ Emotional▫ Can encumber property▫ Difficult for residents to anticipate and

budget

Options

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• Directed Special Assessments

• Transition to a Local Road Millage

Proposed Ballot Language

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Shall the city charter be amended to authorize the levy of a perpetual additional special tax rate of up to 2.75 mills ($2.75 per $1,000 taxable value), starting with the July, 2019 levy and raising approximately $9,272,000 in the first year, for improving, rehabilitating, repairing, and maintenance of local subdivision road infrastructure, and partly funding debt retirement and special assessment refunds, and eliminate limits on City payments toward local road special assessments, and amend unexpired special assessment rolls to zero-out unpaid balances and provide refunds for properties that have paid-off the special assessment as of November 6, 2018?

Proposed Local Road Funding

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• Transition from SAD

• $2 Million from 2014 Millage

• Proposed 2018 Road Millage generates - $9.2 Million

• Total $11.2 Million for Local Roads per year

Why $11.2 Million for Local Roads?

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127 Miles(58%)

203 Miles(93%)

52 Miles(24%)

71 Miles(32%)

15 Miles (7%)

61 Miles(28%)

21 Miles(10%)

105 Miles(48%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Current $0M / Yr $10M / Yr

Poor Fair Good

City Local Roads - Condition Projection

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2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

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2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

Av

era

ge

PA

SE

R R

ati

ng

Year

$0M / Yr $10M / Yr

Proposed Use of Millage Funds

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• $10 Million per year for reconstruction of existing paved local streets (approx. 5 miles)

• $1 Million per year for gravel road conversion program (neighborhood driven)

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TaxableValue of Property

Approximate Market Value of Property

Annual Cost of2.75 Mill Tax Increase

Daily Cost of2.75 Mill Tax

Increase

$25,000 $64,000 $68.75 $0.19

$50,000 $127,000 $137.50 $0.38

Average in Farmington Hills

$90,000 $229,000 $247.50 $0.68

$100,000 $254,000 $275.00 $0.75

$150,000 $382,000 $412.50 $1.13

$200,000 $509,000 $550.00 $1.51

$250,000 $636,000 $687.50 $1.88

$300,000 $763,000 $825.00 $2.26

$350,000 $890,000 $962.50 $2.64

$400,000 $1,018,000 $1,100.00 $3.01

Financial Impact to ResidentsWeb Calculator Link:

Millage versus Special Assessment

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• Typical Special Assessment:

▫ $12,000 payable over 10-15 Years

• Average Annual Millage Increase:

▫ $247.50/year

• Return on Investment:

▫ 48 years ($12,000/ $247.50)

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7.8270

10.3582

10.4500

10.4605

10.5376

10.9806

11.2998

12.0487

12.7725

12.7871

12.8171

14.6569

14.6739

15.1746

15.2429

15.5000

16.4298

16.8045

17.0011

17.4069

17.6389

19.3051

20.8277

20.9229

21.5677

22.2343

23.1591

25.2114

25.9642

26.4226

26.8286

36.1688

38.2998

0.0000 5.0000 10.0000 15.0000 20.0000 25.0000 30.0000 35.0000 40.0000

Orchard Lake

Troy

Lake Angelus

Rochester Hills

Novi

Bloomfield Hills

Auburn Hills

West Bloomfield Township

Rochester

Bloomfield Township

Keego Harbor

Farmington Hills

Birmingham

Berkley

Wixom

Farmington

Northville

South Lyon

Pontiac

Farmington Hills w/2018 Millage

Royal Oak

Clarkston

Walled Lake

Sylvan Lake

Pleasant Ridge

Lathrup Village

Huntington Woods

Madison Heights

Clawson

Southfield

Ferndale

Oak Park

Hazel Park

2017 Local Unit Tax RatesFor all Cities and Major Townships in Oakland County

Farmington Hills has the 12th Lowest Tax Rate

Inclusive of 2.75 Local Road Millage in 2018

Goals and Expectations

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• Overall average pavement condition improves to 6 (fair condition) after 10 years of investment

• Enhanced asset management• Improved safety and curb appeal• Stabilize and improve property

values• Gravel Road Conversion option will

be available

ELECTION RESULTS!!!

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• Yes: 58.71%• No: 41.29%

Lessons Learned

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• Must build TRUST and CREDIBILITY!• Educate the public on how roads are funded• Must have a good Asset Management Plan

(AMP)• Explain condition assessment/asset

management plan clearly and concisely• No guessing! We have the data to backup the

millage request• Citizen support group (Say Yes Committee)

▫ Yard/Campaign Signs▫ Pamphlets, Door to Door

• Unified support of your elected body (if possible)

Lessons Learned

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• Create a committee of key staff: City Manager’s Office, Public Services/Engineering, Finance, Video Department, City Attorney, City Clerk

• Develop unified messaging and educational materials early and review with City Attorney

• Weekly committee meetings regarding progress, upcoming events and speaking opportunities

• Dedicated webpage on City website with FAQs, recorded video presentation, millage calculator, maps

• Leverage other City Departments to spread the information: Cable, Parks and Rec, Clerk’s Office, Library, etc

Lessons Learned

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• Layout a schedule and hold as many public presentations including:

▫ HOA’s

▫ PTA and PTO

▫ Chamber of Commerce

▫ Service Organizations

▫ Any group of 10 or more citizens!

• Present to your Boards and Commissions

• Unified use of Social Media

• Remember! As government employee’s, we’re only allowed to provide information!!!

Contact Information and Questions?

Gary Mekjian, Assistant City Managergmekjian@fhgov.com248-871-2500

Karen Mondorakmondora@fhgov.comDirector of Public Services248-871-2530

City website: www.fhgov.com

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