Once again, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) has earned a “clean” audit for fiscal year 2024, as it has for multiple decades, documenting the agency’s sound financial management.
The audit was conducted by Plante Moran, and the audit report was presented to the RCOC Board at its March 20 meeting.
The intent of the audit is to provide an independent evaluation of whether the agency’s financial reports accurately reflect the agency’s financial position and its revenues and expenses. In its Independent Auditor’s Report, Plante Moran noted that the agency had “presented fairly…the financial position … of the Road Commission” in its financial statements
This is known as a “clean” audit, since the auditors did not identify any problems with the agency’s financial records or practices.
“This agency takes its fiscal responsibilities very seriously,” noted RCOC Managing Director Dennis Kolar. “Our funds come from the taxpayers, primarily through the fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, and we are very committed to being responsible stewards of those dollars.”
The audit noted that RCOC spent $128 million on the road system in 2024 and another $18.6 million on road equipment and other capital improvements. The audit also noted that, as of the end of calendar year 2023, RCOC’s retirement system was 85 percent funded, and that the agency had exceeded required annual contributions to the system since 2020.
RCOC’s fiscal year 2025 budget is nearly $178 million. Of that, over $122 million comes from fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, nearly $42 million comes from federal and other state sources, $10 million comes from contributions from local governments in Oakland County (cities, villages and townships, as well as County general government through the Tri-Party Program) and approximately $3.5 million comes from Road Commission fees and other revenues.
RCOC maintains the largest county road system in Michigan with more than 2,700 miles of county roads, including 752 miles of unpaved, gravel roads. The agency also maintains the 230 miles of state highways in the county (I, M or US routes) under contract for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
