The Van Buren Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to place a Public Safety Renewal question on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot.
Action was taken at a 27-minute special meeting Aug. 6, via Zoom.
A seven-year 6.5-mill public safety tax was approved Nov. 8, 2016 and it runs through December, 2023. Due to the rollbacks from the Headlee Amendment, the tax is now 6.3931 mills, said township attorney Angela Mannarino.
The new ballot question will keep the millage running for another seven years, from December, 2024, through December 2030, after the first millage runs out at the end of 2023.
Although VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara had considered several different proposals for the public safety millage extension, and disseminated them to board members, for the final decision, he presented only one.
“I’ve always believed … taxation should always be decided by the most voters,” Supervisor McNamara said in explaining why he wanted this on the ballot of the Presidential Election. He said the board isn’t sneaking in an election in March or April or in the middle of the night, but putting it on the ballot that will bring the most voters.
He said if they wait until the Gubernatorial Election in two years, passing it will be a must because the millage will be expiring.
McNamara said the public safety millage brings in $6.1 million of the township budget. If the public safety millage is not assured, it plays havoc with the township’s credit rating. He said he has gone over the township credit reports over the last years and the township depends on the landfill for funding and the township has a Visteon issue out there. He said when those who set the credit ratings see the public safety millage is about to expire that will weaken the township’s standing.
He said in the next few years, there will be abilities for the township to go out for bonding and the township needs to be as stable as possible.
“If we only have one year left, they are going to sock us when we go out for bonding,” he said. “We have to make sure we are stable.”
Trustee Reggie Miller encouraged McNamara to explain to the public why the township should go out for the extension now, when they have three more years.
McNamara said he wants the most amount of people to vote on this and that would be in the Presidential election.
“You cannot live without the public safety millage,” he said, noting VBT has the second lowest tax rate in Wayne County, second only to Sumpter Township.
“Sumpter Township is the lowest in Wayne County and I don’t know how they do it,” McNamara said, adding, “Hats off to Sumpter Township.”
He said when he came on board four years ago, VBT had a 22-year-old ladder truck that the state no longer let them use and two 18-year-old fire trucks. They were running with one man in two fire stations because people didn’t want to work for them.
McNamara said now they have rebuilt two fire stations and have a new ladder truck, two new fire trucks, and six full-time fire fighters.
Trustee Miller asked how millage affects the timing for response.
Police Chief Jason Wright said without the funding, they could not answer calls. Without manpower, they couldn’t go on runs. The calls are answered by people, he stressed, and they do the dispatching and patrol the lake and neighborhoods. Without manpower, provided by the millage, they couldn’t go on runs.
“The existing public safety millage is critical to our operations,” Chief Wright said.
McNamara said VBT has a millage rate of 7.4, compared to Romulus at 22 or 23 mills, Livonia at 20, Westland at 25, and Canton at 12 or 13, he wasn’t sure.
Trustee Kevin Martin said they want to extend the millage for seven more years, but what if the cost of fuel goes up in three to four years? What would they do then?
McNamara said the Headlee Amendment cuts back the millage, as well. He said the millage rate can be raised by a vote of the people, and attorney Mannarino agreed.
McNamara said one mill in VBT is worth $950,000 and $95,000 of that was lost to Headlee. He said he holds all departments to 2-3%.
He said creating wealth for residents by increasing the value of their property will be the way to add tax money.
Clerk Leon Wright said the township did raise the millage. It was 4.5 mills and they increased it to 6.5 mills. He said it was increased then and he didn’t think it was a good idea to increase it now.
He said he agrees now is the time to put it out to the people as a renewal at the 6.3931 mill current levy.
Trustee Martin said he was not opposed to the renewal, but two or three years down the road things might change and seven years is a long time to plan. He said the township has upgraded the public safety facilities and equipment and “our people are very well-trained – police and fire.”
McNamara said in the last three years the township pumped $3 million into police and fire, which hadn’t been upgraded in 20 years. He said $300,000 was put into vehicles. The department should be cheaper to run now, if hopefully it is maintained.
“I’m all for it,” said Trustee Sherry Frazier, a real estate agent. “Public safety is number one for new community members… they always look for public safety.” She said the department’s present leaders are forward-thinking and proactive.
“If down the road … we got in a desperate situation, we could always go back to the people,” said Treasurer Sharry Budd. She said with this millage extension, she thinks they will be OK.
“We’re trying to get it passed now so we won’t have to worry about it down the line,” said Trustee Miller. She said the board’s goal is to get the taxpayers on board with this and get it passed. It doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk because it’s an election year, she said.
Before the vote, Trustee Martin asked about the three options McNamara had sent to them earlier and McNamara said this option is the one he wanted because it has “renewal” in the wording.
Trustee Martin said that would be option one that he presented.
McNamara said he had 40 pieces of paper going back and forth with lawyers on this and he knew the board had a deadline to get it on the Nov. 3 ballot. That’s why the special meeting was necessary.
The regular Aug. 3 work/study and Aug. 4 regular meetings had been canceled because of the primary election on Aug. 4.
McNamara said he would get together with attorney Mannarino right away to make sure the next steps are taken to get the ballot wording to the Wayne County Clerk by the deadline for the Nov. 3 ballot.
Before the meeting started, McNamara explained to the board that the cost of public safety to the township was $8.5 million and the public safety millage brought $6.1 million and about $1 million more came in from court fees, an allocation from the landfill and other sources. He said that means the township budget still is supporting public safety by $1.4 million.
“Public safety is our top priority,” said Trustee Paul White.
In comments at the end of the meeting Trustee Martin commended the clerk’s office for doing a great job in the primary election with timely results.
Clerk Wright agreed that the poll workers, the absentee voter board, and his staff did an outstanding job. He said they had 5,698 absentee ballots and a total of 8,010 voters, a new primary record for the township.
“It’s a good thing to see our democracy at work,” Clerk Wright said. “We’re going to do it again in November.”
He said they were able to vote without any resistances.
Clerk Wright thanked the board for allowing him to purchase the items he needed to run a good election for the people.
Trustee Frazier thanked the residents who take a democracy seriously and make their voices heard by going to the ballot box.
Clerk Wright said he thought they might have to call police if they had any problems, but “Maybe two people came without a mask out of 2,400 and we had no problem at all.”
Charter Township of Van Buren County of Wayne, Michigan
Resolution 2020-14 — Ballot Question Proposal
Public Safety Millage Renewal
As a renewal of previously authorized millage, which expires December 2023, shall the Charter Township of Van Buren, Wayne County, Michigan, levy taxes in an amount not to exceed 6.3931 mills ($6.3931 per $1,000 taxable value) to provide funds for public safety services, including: police; fire; dispatch; emergency management; and ordinance enforcement? The 6.3931 mills ($5.391 per $1,000 taxable value) is to be levied against all property within the Township, pursuant to 1947 PA 359, as amended, for a period of seven years beginning December 2024 through December 2030, inclusive, which would be approximately $7,428,398 when first levied in December 2024, less the estimate tax captures: Downtown Development Authority in the amount of $640,000 (pursuant to 2018 PA 57, as amended); and Local Development Finance Authority in the amount of $220,775 (pursuant to 2018 PA 57, as amended).
Yes __________ No __________