Police, fire millage renewal on primary election ballot in St. Clair Shores

ST. CLAIR SHORES — On Aug. 2, residents will go to the polls to vote on a number of political contests. St. Clair Shores residents also will be asked to vote on a police and fire millage renewal, known as Proposal A. The current millage is set to expire on June 30, 2023.

Proposal A asks voters to approve up to 4.6623 mills on their property’s taxable value. The taxable value of a home can be found on the homeowner’s property tax statement. The number is typically 50% or less of the assessed market value.

Tax bills are based on a homeowner’s taxable value multiplied by the total millage rate and divided by 1,000.

If approved, the renewed police and fire millage will be included on the July 2023 summer tax bill.

“This millage is an existing program that must be renewed every three years. The citizens have overwhelmingly supported us in the past, and the police and fire departments appreciate that continued support,” Fire Chief James Piper said via email. “While we have different specific jobs, the police and fire departments both exist to keep the citizens of St. Clair Shores safe. In that combined effort, it was decided when the millage was first enacted years ago to make them a single ballot issue.”

If a resident’s home has a taxable value of $50,000, the estimated annual cost is $233.12.

If a home has a taxable value of $75,000, the estimated cost for the year under the millage renewal is $349.67.

As another example, the cost would be $466.23 per year for a homeowner with a home that has a taxable value of $100,000.

The tax rate won’t change, but if the value of the home goes up, the tax will be higher for the homeowner. If the home loses value, the tax rate decreases.

If approved on Aug. 2, an estimated $8,573,593 will be collected in the first year. The revenue collected will be used exclusively for police and fire operations, including personnel and the repair and replacement of aging equipment.

The millage renewal will not completely fund the police and fire budgets, but the amount collected makes a significant impact. If the renewal of the police and fire millage passes, funding will be available to maintain city services at their current level.

Piper provided two examples of purchases the Fire Department will make with millage funds.

“Two items that were approved in the upcoming budget are a replacement fire truck and replacement self-contained breathing apparatus,” he said. “The millage helps to not only offset our capital purchases, but helps fund the day-to-day operation of the Fire Department, as well.”

If the millage fails at the polls, city officials will need to explore several options. That could include taking more than $8.5 million from the “rainy day fund” to balance the budget and maintain city services at their current level. It also could mean eliminating more than $8.5 million from the general fund budget by examining city services and reviewing each department to determine which services to eliminate or to downsize significantly. Another option would be a hybrid use of rainy day money and cutting services.

According to city officials, the rainy day fund is basically the city’s “savings” account and is used for unanticipated purchases such as emergency repairs to city buildings and infrastructure. Rainy day funds also can be used in lean years when revenues are short.

“It supplements the budgets for the police and fire departments. We don’t want to lose any services or personnel,” Police Chief Jason Allen said. “We’ve always gotten support from our residents in many kinds of ways, including financially. We want to continue to provide great service to our residents like we’ve done for years and years.”

For questions about the millage renewal, contact Piper at (586) 445-5380 at the Fire Department’s central station.

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Ballot Language that will appear at the polls Aug. 2:

This is a Charter Amendment for a millage renewal that replaces the expiring police and fire millage to partially fund the St. Clair shores Police and Fire Departments.

PROPOSAL A
Shall the Charter of the City of St. Clair Shores be amended to authorize, for a period of three years, beginning July 1, 2023, the levy and collection of up to (4.6623) mills per $1,000 of state taxable value which is estimated to produce $8,573,593 of collections in the first year to be exclusively used for police and fire department operations.