Count the City of Niles among the municipalities supporting putting a proposed county-wide road millage up for a vote.

The city council unanimously approved a resolution supporting putting the item on the August 2012 ballot Monday night.

The millage request is for a half-mill for six years. It would generate $3.4 million each year to fund road maintenance and improvement projects in Berrien County.

City Administrator Terry Eull said 100 percent of the taxes collected in the city would stay in the city. The council would determine which road projects would be funded.

The county commissioners will ultimately determine if the issue is placed on the ballot but they are requesting for all 39 municipalities in Berrien County to pass resolutions supporting the measure.

Locally, just the cities of Niles and Buchanan have passed resolutions. The Niles Township board tabled the issue at its last meeting and expects to vote on it next week.

Some township board members are concerned with the proposed 60-40 split for townships, meaning 60 percent of taxes collected stay in the township while 40 percent would fund general county road projects. Township Treasurer Jim Ringler voiced concern with the proposal, calling it an “unproportional tax.”

Brian Berndt, the Berrien County Road Commission engineer/ manager, told the Star earlier this month that the commission is facing a severe budget crunch with increased costs of materials and less funding from the state gas tax and license fees.

Berndt told Buchanan city commissioners Monday night that the price of materials have doubled in the past several years.

The county has 1,483 miles of road and a recent study rated 200 of them in poor condition. If passed, it would be the first county-wide road millage since one was introduced in the early 1960s to fund the construction of four major bridges.