Township Roads
The Most Recent Road Improvements: Last fall we finished up capping/sealing all our township roads. These are your road millage dollars at work. Here's some background: In November of 2024, the majority of our constituents voted to renew the Crystal Lake Township 5-year (up until 2029) road millage of up to 1.0 millage to maintain/improve the asphalt roads within our boundaries. [Note that this is a different millage from the county-wide road millage.] With the accumulated monies in our dedicated CLT Road Fund, the Benzie County Road Commission applied "chip-n-seal" to the following: Adams, Airport, Bacon, Bellows, Bridge, Carlson, Casey, Cox, Didrickson, Elm, Figg, Forrester, Glory, Graves, Marquette, Martin, Michigan, Mollineaux, Nelson, Nugent, Palcich, Pautz, Robinson, Runway, Shorewood, Sunset, and Thomas. The exact cost billed to us was $772,891.41 and was 99% paid for with taxes already collected. After all the work was completed, the Road Fund was depleted. In order to build it back up for the next round of maintenance --hopefully not scheduled until many years down the road, no pun intended --the CLT Board has decided to continue in 2026 to collect the 1 mill or .9831, with the Headlee Rollback factor applied. Special thanks to our dedicated Road Committee members: Bruce Walton, Al Popp and Judy VanMeter for offering their advice and monitoring the roads, and for the good people at our county road commission for executing the labor.
More on the Township-Specific Road Millage:
In 2015, Crystal Lake Township voters approved a local road millage, a levy of 1.0 mill ($1.00 per $1000 of taxable value) for a 5-year period. Since then, it has been renewed twice. Although there is also a county-wide millage in place that allocates a portion of money for township roads, many felt it wasn't generating enough funding to adequately service our local township roads to the degree we'd like to see them maintained. Our township millage provides funds to improve, repair and maintain the asphalt roads just within our Crystal Lake Township boundaries and, since being enacted, many have commented that we are the envy of the county (and beyond!) because the top-notch condition of our roads.
In 2015, Crystal Lake Township voters approved a local road millage, a levy of 1.0 mill ($1.00 per $1000 of taxable value) for a 5-year period. Since then, it has been renewed twice. Although there is also a county-wide millage in place that allocates a portion of money for township roads, many felt it wasn't generating enough funding to adequately service our local township roads to the degree we'd like to see them maintained. Our township millage provides funds to improve, repair and maintain the asphalt roads just within our Crystal Lake Township boundaries and, since being enacted, many have commented that we are the envy of the county (and beyond!) because the top-notch condition of our roads.
The County-Wide Road Millage:
This source of road money is separate from and in addition to the township road millage. It is an "umbrella" tax that covers all Benzie County roads through its 19 smaller government entities, including 12 townships, 6 villages and 1 city.
The CLT Road Committee:
Judy VanMeter, Board liaison
Bruce Walton
Al Popp
Rick Nielsen, Emeritus member
The Benzie County Road Commission Headquartered in Honor:
The Benzie County Road Commission webpage or phone at 231-325-3051.
CLT residents meet to discuss road issues.
