Belleville City Council approves assessment question for Nov. ballot

At Monday’s special 14-minute meeting, the Belleville City Council unanimously approved putting a question on the Nov. 5 ballot concerning assessing up to two mills for ten years for the public safety department.
Councilman Tom Fielder was absent.
It was emphasized that the property exempt from property taxes would also be exempt from this assessment, such as churches and schools, but the Downtown Development Authority would not capture any of this tax money.
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The ballot proposal will read:
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FOR POLICE/FIRE DEPARTMENTS
Shall the City of Belleville raise money for operations and to purchase equipment for the City Police/Fire Departments by annual special assessment levies of up to 2.00 mills ($2.00 per $1,000.00 of taxable value) on all real property in the City that is not exempt from property taxes, for a period of 10 years, with the levies to be from December 2019 to December 2029 to provide funding for the 2020/2029 fiscal years. If approved and fully levied in December 2019, the revenue from this special assessment collected in the first year would be approximately $90,000.00.
______ Yes ______ No
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The council also approved holding a public hearing regarding the Public Safety Special Assessment at its regularly scheduled meeting of Oct. 7.
Also, if the voters approve the ballot proposal and the city council decides to levy a special assessment, an additional public hearing will be held at a date to be announced.
Mayor Pro-Tem Jack Loria said every piece of tax money now goes to public safety and the city needs help in covering the rest of the services.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said this assessment would free up money in the general fund and it would cost more later if they decided to wait.
Councilman Jesse Marcotte pointed out another community had waited and now it is levying 9 mills at a cost of $400 per taxpayer.
Reinard Heininger had trouble hearing the council since there is no functioning sound system in the council chambers.
“I can’t hear, but forget it,” Heininger said. “I’ve been paying taxes in Belleville for 75 years, so I’d like to know what’s going on…
“I was 17 at that time and purchased two pieces of property,” Heininger said.
After the vote approved putting the question on the ballot, Mayor Conley said it is not required to take this assessment to the people, but it will be bringing them information.
The Independent asked if it was true that if the voters turned down the ballot proposal, the council could vote to levy the assessment anyway.
“But that’s not the spin you want to do,” Mayor Conley replied, adding, “That would be like saying they will ram it down your throat anyway.
“There are more challenging things ahead of us if it doesn’t pass,” she said, including “how to work with the needs of public safety.”