Roads & 2014 MI budget
During his first two years as governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder has made a point of having the state budget prepared months ahead of the deadline.
Snyder kept with that theme last week as he spoke about the potential 2014 budget.
Driving in the Lower Peninsula or across the U.P., it doesn’t take long to realize the roads could use some repairs.
Drivers across the state often have higher car repair bills than those in other states.
Michigan budget director John Nixon says Michigan residents pay an average of $81 per year more for car repairs than drivers in neighboring states, and he says potholes and other symptoms of poor roads have a great deal to do with that.
By spending more money now, Nixon says it will save the state from paying more in the long run and help boost our economy.
He also thinks it’ll help the state’s job market, as just about any business needs to be able to move people and goods quickly across roads in order to operate efficiently.
The start of the 2014 fiscal year begins at midnight on October 1st, which means the state legislature has up until 11:59 pm on September 30th to finalize the budget.
Governor Snyder’s previous two budget proposals were both approved no later than June.