LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder signed a $175 million supplemental road funding bill Tuesday. In response, state Rep. Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) issued the following statement:
“Grand Rapidians agreed to pay more to fix our roads through our city’s street tax in 2014. Last year, the state made us pay more once again in the form of higher gas taxes and vehicle registrations — to raise money to road repairs that never materialized. All the while, our state’s roads have moved beyond simple disrepair and into a dangerous condition. The 2015 roads plan was supposed to fix that, but all it seemed to do was take more money out of the pockets of hardworking families. It’s clear the 2015 plan to fix our infrastructure is as broken as the roads themselves, and we all know an extra $175 million is inadequate to turn it around. And this doesn’t even touch on the problems with Michigan’s water infrastructure, which has sickened the people of Flint with lead, and is faltering under the challenge of filtering out dangerous contaminants like PFAS in Kent County. Michiganders are looking for elected officials who will be leaders, unrig the broken system and do what it takes to solve this problem once and for all, and I’m willing to meet with anyone to get this job done.”