Q:   WHY NOT JUST ELIMINATE OAKLAND'S DONOR STATUS?

A:   Some have suggested that road problems in Oakland County could be eliminated or reduced if we simply eliminated this condition and returned 100 percent of the funds collected for roads in the county. For a number of reasons, this is simply not realistic, though adjustments have been made in the past to reduce Oakland's donor status.

Here are some of the reasons Oakland's donor status cannot simply be eliminated:

1. Oakland is not the only donor in terms of transportation dollars. In fact, all "urban" counties in Michigan are donors.

2. The "urban" counties subsidize the rural counties that do not have the population or other tax base to generate enough money to maintain their roads.

3. In recent winters, the road commissions in some northern counties were unable to plow snow on the weekends because they could not afford the overtime. Eliminating the donor status of "urban" counties would make this situation worse.

4. If all "urban" counties got back 100 percent of the transportation funds they generate, rural counties would be devastated.