Several counties in the Thumb Area have millage and bond proposals on the November 8th ballot, with most of the measures being renewals of current millages.
In Sanilac County for instance, county officials will be asking voters to renew the recently expired Medical Care Facility millage, which provides funds for the facility’s operation. The millage, first approved in 2016, would be renewed at the original 0.20 mills (20 cents for every $1000 of taxable value), and would be levied for six years, until 2027. It’s estimated that almost $340,000 in the first year of the millage being levied, with a portion of the millage possibly being captured by Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities, Downtown Development Authorities (DDA), and local Tax Increment Finance Authorities (TIFA).
Meanwhile, Lapeer County and Tuscola County have one proposal each. Lapeer County is asking residents to approve a new millage to fund the road commission’s efforts to repair, maintenance and existing roads and bridges in the county. To do this, officials are asking for an increase of 1.85 mills (or $1.85 for every $1000 of taxable value) for four years, with this millage’s funds being divided across the county road commission and several communities, such as Lapeer, Imlay City, Brown City, Otter Lake, Almont, Clifford, North Branch, Dryden, Columbiaville and Metamora, to exclusively pay for these projects. The proposed millage is estimated to raise almost $6.5 million dollars in the first year.
Tuscola County is requesting voters to approve the borrowing of money not to exceed $44 million to build, furnish and equip a new jail and sheriff’s facility, with unlimited tax bonds to be issued in one or more series to cover subsequent costs. With 30 years being the maximum that a series of bonds can be outstanding in Michigan, the proposal is suggesting a rate of 0.9829 mills (or about 98 cents per $1000 of taxable value) for the first levy year. The proposed millage would raise a little more than two million dollars for bond repayment in the first year of the levy.
While St. Clair County has no county-specific proposals, Huron County has two. The first is for a millage to fund the county’s Central Dispatch and Enhanced 911 (aka E911) system at four-tenth’s of a mill (or 40 cents for every $1000) over five years. The funds from the millage, which is expected to raise a little over one million dollars of funding in the first year, will be administered by the county’s board of commissioners. The second millage proposal on Huron County’s ballot concerns renewing a six-year millage for the funding of the Huron Transit Corporation, the county’s public transportation service organization. The fund would also be administered by the county commissioners, with the renewed 0.20 mill rate raising around $515,000 in the first year. Under state law, small portions of both proposed millages may also be captured by the DDA and/or the TIFA of Bad Axe, Caseville, Port Austin, Sebewaing, and Elkton.
With so many candidates and issues on this year’s midterm ballot and the election in only two weeks’ time, be sure to tune in and stay up to date on Thumb Politics with us here at WMIC/WTGV.
