About the Partnership
The Grand Traverse County's Board of Commissioners and the Road Commission have a unique and intertwined relationship. The County Commissioners appoint the members to the Board of County Road Commissioners of Grand Traverse County. Although the  agencies work closely together, there is no formal reporting relationship, nor budgetary relationship between them. Our budget is included in their financial reports. The County Treasurer historically has been designated as its financial adviser by the Road Commission. Still, the Road Commission is not a department of the County.

The Road Commission provides a monthly report on its activities to the County's Resource Management and Administration Committee.  

The two agencies partner together to meet the transportation needs of our community. Some examples are joint ventures on TART Trails, environmental studies for the Cass Road Bridge Project, LaFranier Road Project and bonding for land purchases.

Bonds & Funding
As the Road Commission cannot incur certain types of debt, Grand Traverse County Commissioners assisted us in obtaining bonds for construction of our new facility and for numerous road projects, including the $2.5 million Whitewater Township Special Assessment District (2006) and the $2 million of road paving (2008) on various primary roads in Grand Traverse County.

Absorbing Road Commissions
Legislation is pending to allow county boards the ability to absorb road commissions into the county. The method depends on whether the current road commissioners are appointed or elected. Both cases require the county boards to hold two public hearings. Following the hearings, appointed road commissions can be absorbed by a county board resolution and elected road commissioners can be absorbed if approved by a vote of the residents.