Desperate times call for desperate measures.
After voters shot down public safety millagesin five Oakland County communities in August, rattled officials have put police and fire proposals back on November ballots in Orion, Brandon, Highland, Independence and Waterford townships.
Four out of the five have decreased their requests. In some cases, rather than asking for an increase to cover rising costs, or even just a straight renewal of what voters approved in years past, officials have resorted to asking for what amounts to a tax cut.
But without approval of these proposals, they warn, police and fire services in these communities are in peril.
“We’re trying to do this (ask for approval) in a non-threatening way, but going to zero (funding) for police
and fire means no police and fire department − you call 911, and no one comes,” Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said. “Everyone thinks there are secret banks of money and a different way of doing things, and there isn’t. Some people get it, and we have a lot of support, but we are all very nervous.”
The nerves are ticking up as the clock is ticking down on the end of 2026, when current police and fire millages in Orion Township expire.
In August, Orion officials proposed 3.75 mills for police service, which failed with 59% of voters saying no to only 41% yes. A proposal of 3.85 mills for a fire operating millage failed by a much closer margin, with 51% of voters saying no to 49% yes.
Now, they have lowered the requests on both of those proposals significantly, asking voters to approve 3.3761 mills for police for four years and 2.8846 mills for fire and EMS operations.
These are renewals of what voters are currently paying, but less than what voters approved in 2020, due to Headlee Amendment rollbacks, and Barnett acknowledges they equate to tax cuts.
This 1978 Headlee Amendment and Proposal A of 1994 limit the growth of property taxes to the rate of inflation.
The township also added a third proposal to the ballot, a 0.4000 mill for four years that would be used for increasing fire department and EMS staffing, including wages and benefits, improving emergency response capability, and funding capital needs, including fire apparatus, equipment and station improvements.
“This is bare, bare bones,” Barnett said. “This is not ambulances and trucks; this just helps us stay compliant so they have the right equipment. These are no-brainers; we’re not asking for bells, whistles and frills.”
Trying to get by in Waterford
Waterford Township is taking a similar approach in asking for less this election after two public safety millages failed in August and a third fire millage barely passed. They had sought to "restore lost millage due to Headlee rollbacks.”
Now, instead of seeking 1.5 mills for police operations, which voters had originally approved 40 years ago, Waterford Township is asking voters to approve the current rolled-back rate of 1.3352 mills for 10 years.
Voters also originally approved a 1 mill fire operating millage in 1986, but after they declined to restore it in August, the township is now asking for renewal of the current rolled-back rate of 0.8822 mills for a decade.
Together, the two millages would raise about $7.5 million in the first year of levy, to be used for staffing, maintenance and operations. Supervisor Anthony Bartolotta acknowledged that residents are “very, very tired of paying taxes.” He estimated the police millage would cost the average taxpayer in the township $143.47 per year, while the fire millage would cost $95.65 annually.
“We are trying to get enough just so we can function and get through for 10 years,” Bartolotta said. “If we can get these passed, we will at least keep our heads above water. The rate will be the same as what they are paying now, a rolled back price. If we lose it, we will lose everything.”
Brandon and Independence retreat from August requests
Brandon and Independence townships are also asking for less after their failed August millage proposals for police service.
In Brandon, voters are now being asked to approve 3.9509 mills for 8 years for police protection, the rate currently levied after Headlee rollbacks. In August, voters declined to renew the 4.25 mills that they authorized in 2018.
Independence Township asked for two police millages in August, one for 3.2 mills for police services, the other for .32 mills to strictly fund school resource officers in the Clarkston School District. Both proposals failed.
Now, Independence Township has dropped the .32 mill proposal and instead is asking again for 3.2 mills for police services for four years, which November ballot language notes could also include school resource officers.
Police services for Independence, Brandon, and Orion Township are all provided by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, whose prices have increased.
Highland sticks to original ask
Highland Township is the only Oakland County community returning to voters in November with the same fire millagethey asked for in August, although Township Supervisor Rick Hamill said the ballot language this time is more descriptive.
The proposal, which failed by 135 votes in August, is still for 2.32 mills for 6 years to provide emergency fire and medical services to the community. The enhanced ballot language, however, explains further that 1.85 mills of this is a renewal, while 0.47 mills is an increase and breaks down that the increase in taxes results in an average increased annual bill for taxpayers of $67.
Hamill noted that August was the first time the fire department had ever had a millage proposal fail, but officials couldn’t reduce what they were asking for.
“They (voters) don’t realize we don’t generate enough revenue to cover operating costs, which have come up because of inflation,” he said. “We can’t renew it to what it was, because then you’re in a hole and can’t function.”
Hamill said if the fire millage doesn’t pass this time around, the township may consider a special assessment district for fire services, with a flat rate for all properties in the township, regardless of their value.
In Orion Township, Barnett and other officials have scheduled multiple events to educate voters about the police and fire millages.
“We want them armed with info,” said Barnett, who uses four glass jars with varying levels of pennies as a visual explainer of funding in the township. “Candidly, I’ve never been as frustrated as I am right now in the 14 years I’ve been privileged to do this job. We get it, gas and groceries are high, and interest rates are high. But police and fire are non-negotiable in a developed community like Orion Township.”
Reporter Susan Bromley covers Oakland County for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at sbromley@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Police, fire millages back on Oakland ballot with cuts after tax revolt
