There was some good news for Washtenaw County Road Commissioners in the first quarter budget report. Michigan Transportation Funds — which account for more than $16.2 million of the Road Commission's anticipated revenues for the year — were up 4 percent when compared to the first two months of last year.

Dan Ackerman, finance director, said that the 2011 transportation fund revenues were “slightly higher than anticipated,” and “recent and future trends project a 1-percent increase in 2012.”

To date, the Road Commission has received about $3.2 million in state transportation funds and $16.25 million was originally budgeted. It’s expected that there will be a budget amendment adjusting that total upward by $300,000.

However, the Road Commission still plans to use about $1.9 million of its 2011 audited fund balance of $8.9 million to fund overall operations in 2012. It’s projected that the total fund balance will be reduced to $6.96 million by the end of this year.

“We’ve gone through three months of the year,” Roy Townsend, managing director told the Road Commission board. “This is the time to add and subtract projects and look at budget amendments.”

Based on what they’ve heard from 18 of the 20 townships in the county during their annual road project meetings, officials said it seems the townships are planning to contribute to increased road work projects this year.

Here are some highlights from the first quarter review.

• The Road Commission is required by the state’s Public Act 51 to spend about 1 percent of its state transportation funds on non-motorized improvements in the county, which amounts to about $160,000 annually.

  Staff has recommended that the Road Commission spend $50,000 on bikes lanes on Ellsworth Road from Platt to Carpenter in Pittsfield Township and the township will contribute $100,000 toward the project.

• Residents can also look forward to a new county road map in 2012, but there is an $8,000 cost for printing a new version.
• Winter expenses were lower than budgeted thanks to the mild winter and the line item for salt is expected to be decreased by $150,000. In addition, the wage budget for those operations will be decreased by $125,000.
• Because a tornado knocked down thousands of trees in Dexter Township, it’s expected that there will be a budget amendment for $250,000 to pay Harry Fox, a contractor who was hired to assist with the removal of those trees.
• Although the annual sealcoat program for primary roads was not included in the original budget for 2012, Ackerman is recommending that $200,000 be budgeted for this type of maintenance work and that the line item for asphalt be increased by $130,000.
• The proposed salt barn in Manchester, which was initially budgeted for 2011, was put on hold when partial funding for the new building was delayed by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

  Since then, staff has secured the $125,000 in funding from MDOT for this new facility and the project should be completed by the end of the year.

Ackerman acknowledged his staff, Sandra Riddle, Lori Hackbarth and Alicia Kelly, for assisting him in putting together the first quarter budget review documents.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com, who also covers the Washtenaw County Road Commission. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.