Voters in Niles Charter Township will have to decide in August if they are willing to pay a per parcel fee in exchange for better roads.

On Tuesday, the township’s board of trustees voted unanimously to place a special assessment on the ballot of a special election Aug. 4.

The special assessment would collect a sum not to exceed $65 per parcel for a period of 10 years.

The assessment would generate approximately $430,000 each year for road improvements in Niles Township. All the money would stay in the township, according to officials.

Township officials said it would raise enough money to fix the roads based on the Berrien County Road Commission’s inflation-adjusted estimate of $4.3 million. The road commission is responsible for keeping the roads safe in the township.

Supervisor Jim Stover said the township would work with the road commission to determine the order and manner in which roads are fixed and that the township would have the final say. A plan for the roads, he said, would be available at a later date.

Clerk Terry Eull said the $65 assessment figure could be adjusted downward if the state frees up money for roads in the future.

Township officials also said they plan to contribute general fund money toward road projects in order to fix roads faster and/or decrease the amount assessed per parcel in a given year.

Township officials decided to pursue a special assessment after the failure of the state proposal to fix roads in the May 5 election.

Louis Csokasy, the managing director of the county road commission, recently told the board that the road commission doesn’t have enough money to adequately fix the roads in Niles Township.

Treasurer Jim Ringler said the township was essentially forced to place the special assessment on the ballot because state legislators have not been able to figure out a way to pay for Michigan’s crumbling roads.

“To have to ask residents to pay for this — it is a pretty sad day,” he said. “They are putting townships in a predicament when they do this.”

However, township officials agreed that placing the future of the township’s roads in the hands of the voters was better than waiting for state funding.