ANN ARBOR, MI - It appears voters in Washtenaw County are willing to tax themselves to pay for better roads and pedestrian/bicycle paths.

With all precincts fully counted, a 0.5-mill tax on the Tuesday, Nov. 8, ballot passed with 71 percent support, 118,564 to 48,470.

After levying a 0.5-mill countywide tax for road repairs for the past two years without a vote of the people, and being sued over it, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners asked voters whether to continue the tax at the same rate for another four years, but with some modifications.

Most of the money from the voter-approved tax will go toward continuing to repair and maintain roads, though some of it will go toward expansion of the county's non-motorized path network for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission will receive 20 percent of the revenue (about $1.5 million per year), and that will go toward completing the remaining 11 miles of the 35-mile Border-to-Border Trail along the Huron River.

The Parks and Recreation Commission also will use some of the funds to reenergize the Connecting Communities Program, which has funded a number of pathways throughout the county.

The tax will continue to cost the owner of a home with a $200,000 market value and a $100,000 taxable value about $50 per year.

It's estimated it will generate more than $7.3 million in revenue in the first year, with $3.3 million going to the Washtenaw County Road Commission to fund road work in the county's 20 townships and $2.5 million going to cities and villages, including $2 million to the city of Ann Arbor.

The Road Commission has more information about the tax and how it will be used, including specific projects, at http://wcroads.org/millage.

County voters on Tuesday also supported a tax for veterans relief, another tax that was levied by the county board without a vote of the people in recent years. It passed with 73 percent support.

It will be up to 0.1 mills for eight years, and it's estimated it could generate more than $1.5 million in the first year and cost the owner of a home with a $200,000 market value and a $100,000 taxable value about $10 per year.