May isn’t typically a time of year associated with voting, but Michigan residents will be hitting the polls on May 5 to decide if our taxes should increase.

Voters will be deciding on State Proposal 15-1, which is slated to adjust Michigan’s state sales tax from 6% to 7% if it passes. This is the percentage paid on sales of goods, often appearing at the bottom of retail receipts. The proposal also adjusts how the state manages gas taxes and the programs these taxes fund.

The issue of raising our state sales tax is complicated to say the least. It’s challenging to have any increase to your cost of living, even if it is just 1%. But according to MDOT, Michigan is “dead last in the country” when it comes the money spent on our roads on a per person basis. This is evident in the potholes we see on our streets and the crumbling overpasses we wonder about as we idle in rush hour traffic.

Opponents of the increase argue that the funding should be found elsewhere. Supporters feel that 1% is a small price to pay when it comes to repairing our infrastructure. Governor Rick Snyder supports the efforts to increase the sales tax, organizing bipartisan support for the issue. Now its fate is left up to the voters.

You can learn more about who supports and who opposes the issue, as well as read the proposal and review its projected revenue, by visiting Vote411.org. The League of Women Voters maintains Vote411.org as a non-partisan gateway for information about upcoming elections and votes.

No matter where residents land on the issue, both sides can agree on one thing: our roads need help. Money is the only way to fix them. We just need to decide where it will come from.