Millage requests crowd ballot

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"We are cut to the bone, we need to start saving and prepare for the future," said Solon/Centerville Firefighter/EMT Tim Johnson, left, standing outside the station in Cedar with Firefighter/EMT Herb Sudemann. A proposed millage increase on the ballots in Solon, Centerville and Kasson Townships would help raise funds for fire and ambulance equipment and services. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

August 5, 2012

Millage requests crowd ballot

Most are renewals of expiring millages, but some are new

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY bmcgillivary@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Sun Aug 05, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Voters in four northern Michigan counties will decide Tuesday whether their property taxes will fund government projects that range from a community center to fire protection.

Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim and Kalkaska counties together have almost four dozen millage requests listed on Tuesday's ballots. Fire and ambulance services make up the largest chunk of those tax requests, with over $2.6 million in pending millage levies. Most are renewals of expiring millages, but several townships added new requests to fund growing fire department costs.

Homestead Township in Benzie County will ask voters to renew a 1 mill levy for fire department operations, and officials hope residents also will approve an additional 0.5 mill increase to purchase new equipment.

"It's very important because right now our department has run on the one mill since 2004, and with the increase in the cost of gas and everything else, there isn't enough left over to save up for replacing any equipment," said Cathy Demitroff, Homestead Township supervisor. "Our equipment is getting older and breaking down more."

Voters have supported the fire department in past elections but Demitroff worries about the new half-mill request.

"It's been a long time since we asked for an increase," she said.

Three Leelanau County townships that share one fire department and ambulance service will ask for more money to support what's commonly known as the Cedar Fire Department. Solon and Centerville townships will ask voters for a quarter-mill increase to 0.75 mills. Kasson Township, which contracts for fire protection, will ask voters to pass a new millage levy.

"Costs are going up and the current millage wasn't raising enough, and we had to take money out of the general fund that we don't have," said Jim Lautner, Solon Township supervisor.

One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's taxable value, so a 0.25 mill increase will add $20 to the tax bill of a home with a taxable value of $80,000.

Property tax requests for roads are another hot item in two counties. Townships in Antrim County have requested over $600,000 for road repair and construction, while Leelanau County's road commission will ask voters to again to approve 0.5 mills for snow plowing.

"It's the same half-a-mill we've had on the ballot every two years since 1986," said Lee Bowen, road commission chairman. "I consider it our report card. If we are doing the job people expect, they will support us."

That millage would raise close to $1.2 million, or about 23 percent of the road commission's overall budget. Failure at the polls would prompt "drastic adjustments" in road commission operations, Bowen said.

Benzie and Antrim counties will also ask voters to renew millages to fund senior services through their commissions on aging, and Kalkaska County will ask voters to renew .25 mills of taxpayer support for the Kaliseum recreational complex.

Grand Traverse County stands out for its lack of ballot questions. Less than a dozen voters in the entire county will have the opportunity to vote on a millage request. Fife Lake Township residents who are part of the Manton School District will vote on a special education millage, said county Clerk Linda Coburn.