Traverse City Record-Eagle

East Bay

August 20, 2009

Fire station may require tax increase

Property owners could see 12% to 25% increases

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY

TRAVERSE CITY -- A new fire station planned for Garfield Township could result in eventual 12 to 25 percent tax increases for property owners in Garfield, East Bay and Acme townships.

Millage rates to build that station could climb by a half-mill in 2010, but local officials plan to cross that bridge later, after they hammer out a budget hampered by a faltering economy.

Three township supervisors who govern the Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department rejected a proposed immediate bump from 2 mills to 2.28 mills on winter 2009 tax bills. They postponed everything from roof repairs and equipment purchases to expanded staffing at other stations to trim $320,000 from the proposed 2010 budget of $3.8 million.

Those supervisors then asked their township boards to either increase the rate to 2.1 mills or use about $130,000 from fire department reserves to balance the budget.

Garfield Township Supervisor Chuck Korn said his general preference would be to implement a millage increase rather than dip into the authority's fund balance. But these aren't normal times, he said.

"It's not a good time to raise taxes. There are a lot of people who are hurting and living on the edge," Korn said. "Even when you are raising taxes a teensy bit it's hard emotionally. It all adds up."

A 0.1 mill increase would cost $7.50 for an owner of a home with a taxable value of $75,000.

Garfield Township will discuss the authority's funding request when it meets Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at township hall.

East Bay Township discussed the issue on Aug. 10 and the board favored holding the millage at 2 mills, township Supervisor Glen Lile said. The board did not take final action and scheduled the millage rate for a public hearing Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Acme Township unanimously voted to keep the millage rate at 2 mills for 2009.

All three townships have to agree on a millage rate, and their difficulty in enacting a small increase this year will grow in 2010.

The authority is moving ahead on a new station on Silver Lake Road in Garfield Township. The station will require increasing the millage rate by 0.25 mills in 2010 to fund a full year of operation in 2011, fire department officials warned. Construction costs could bump that rate by another 0.25 mills if the authority doesn't get a $3.4 million federal stimulus grant to build the new station.

Korn and Lile both said they don't foresee stalling the project, grant or no grant.

"That station is definitely needed if you look at the number of calls we get from that area," Lile said. "We can only hope the economy picks back up."

Text Only