Lake Shore voters to consider non-homestead tax renewal

ST. CLAIR SHORES — On Feb. 27, voters in the Lake Shore Public Schools district will consider a non-homestead tax renewal in the amount of 19.3227 mills, with 18 mills being the maximum levy for the next 10 years.

This ballot item is similar to a ballot item in the Lakeview Public Schools district that passed in November 2023.

District officials said they are seeking a renewal due to Headlee amendment rollbacks.

“So our goal is to renew the existing millage and restore it back to above the 18 mills, since we’ve had multiple rollbacks over the past several years to restore it back to the 18 mills that we can fully levy,” Lake Shore Public School Superintendent Joseph DiPonio said.

St. Clair Shores voters in precincts 14 through 21 will consider the following proposal:

“This proposal will allow the school district to levy the statutory rate of not to exceed 18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance. The remaining 1.3227 mills are only available to be levied to restore millage lost as a reduction required by the ‘Headlee’ amendment to the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and will only be levied to the extent necessary to restore that reduction.”

Under the 1978 Headlee Amendment, if the tax base of a local unit of government is increased, the tax rate on that base must be proportionally reduced so property tax revenues will increase no more than the rate of inflation for that year. The Headlee Amendment limited the amount of taxes a school district and other entities could collect as property values go up.

One mill is equal to one dollar in property taxes per $1,000 in taxable value.

According to the Lake Shore Public School website, this is not a new tax and it is not levied on primary residences. It generates around $2.6 million for the school district every year.

DiPonio said the last time they asked for this item on the ballot was in 2019 and it’s been rolled back every year since then. Due to the rollbacks on the millage, the school district has lost around $95,000. The current millage rate stands at around 17.3227. DiPonio said they have not had to make any cuts yet.

“But there’s certainly more that we could do if we had that $95,000,” DiPonio said.

The money from the tax renewal would be used for any operating costs the district has, DiPonio said.

“That includes paying for a kindergarten teacher, it includes paying for a security officer, it includes paying for increases in heating costs,” DiPonio said. “Just a wide variety of opportunity there.”

Shelly Larsen, chief financial officer for Lake Shore Public Schools, explained what the operating budget covers.

“The operating budget covers everything necessary to provide educational programs and services in Lake Shore Public Schools,” Larsen said.

The current millage expires this summer. If the item is not passed, the money gained from tax will go away.

“The district would end up losing about $2.6 million in operating revenue which is about 5% of our budget, actually closer to 6% of our budget,” DiPonio said. “That would be a monster hit to the district and we would be forced to make some very difficult decisions.”

DiPonio said Lake Shore Public Schools is an important part of the community.

“We certainly value and appreciate the commitment that the community has had to Lake Shore, and I hope they would see the value that we provide,” DiPonio said.