Ferndale hears out residents on potential Headlee override, public safety millages

FERNDALE — After the failure to pass a Headlee operating millage restoration earlier this month, the city of Ferndale held a town hall with the community on how to proceed.

On Nov. 18, the Ferndale City Council held the town hall to discuss voters’ rejection of a proposal that would have reset the city’s general operating millage back to 20 mills and supported improvements to police and fire facilities, recreation facilities and operations.

Almost 54% of voters said no to the proposal on Nov. 5, which led to Ferndale organizing the meeting with the community on what to do next.

Mayor Raylon Leaks-May stated the meeting was to hear constructive ideas from the community to help develop an alternative proposal. It also allowed the council to ask residents questions, such as how the council should approach another millage question and the extent of the millage.

Many residents took time to speak during the meeting and ask questions. There was a consensus from the community to support the Police and Fire departments and their facilities.

Residents also felt that a proposal to support police and fire should be separate from a Headlee override and recreation proposal.

“In the November ballot question, the money that would have been raised to construct (a new public safety facility) was just coupled into the Headlee override together so it’s all kind of together,” City Manager Joe Gacioch told the Woodward Talk.

Kristina Klimecki, a 39-year resident of Ferndale, stated she had never voted no on any type of millage before, but felt she had to on this one.

“I have always supported my city,” she said. “It pained me this time to have to really look at my finances and say, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t do it anymore.’ So I understand the need for fire and police facilities. That’s not a new issue in this city. That issue has been around for a long, long time. Long before The dot, long before landscapes. … We need police and fire facilities, and that’s a mandate that has to happen. Give us a proposal for what we need, not what we want, and I think you may have success in getting it passed.”

Gacioch felt there was an understanding that the majority of the staff are union and that costs of labor have increased.

“I think everyone acknowledged that in the room,” he said. “If there’s a Headlee override, the proposal needs to have a term on it.”

Residents also stated they would want a limit on the Headlee override, as many were uncomfortable with the “perpetuity” of the millage.

“I think that combining the operating expenses and the public safety on one initiative doomed it, and the word ‘perpetuity’ doomed it,” resident Ray Crucet stated. “I’m aware that Trenton recently passed (in August) a bond specifically for police and fire. … Similar size city, similar size population, some density differences, and I think separating that from operating expenses is a smart way to go.”

Council member Donnie Johnson said the reason the millage was proposed in perpetuity is because the city was trying to build these facilities with bonds.

“One way or the other, we’re paying debt service,” he said. “We would have a hard time issuing bonds if we couldn’t say that we were going to have the revenue for the 30-year life of the bonds, and so we wouldn’t be able to get our bonds underwritten and sold, and so that’s kind of why we had done that. If we are going to go the route of, like, a facility bond in this way, same result but not in the general fund. It would be the debt millage that would be affected by that, related to the debt service, and so we wouldn’t need perpetuity for that.”

The city does plan to hold more town halls in the future and is aiming to get something on the May election ballot. To do so, the city would need to approve a ballot question by the end of January.

Gacioch said there are five union contracts that are set to expire on June 30 and it’s in the city’s best interest to have a vote before those contracts expire.

“What we heard is that they understand the Headlee override is necessary, but there needs to be a term on it. … People at the meeting had given examples of 10-year or five-year,” Gacioch said. “The problem is if voters approve the construction of a facility and we know the Headlee override pays for the people who work in that facility, that creates some dissonance.”

The entire town hall can be viewed on the city of Ferndale’s YouTube page.