Voters pass public safety millage in Bloomfield Township

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — A public safety millage renewal in Bloomfield Township, which also includes a millage increase, got the green light from voters Aug. 2.

According to the unofficial results from the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Office, the proposal passed with 8,497 yes votes to 5,062 no votes.

The new public safety millage replaces two expiring public safety millages, and adds a 0.06-mill increase, to further support and finance the township’s fire, police and public safety protection, officials said.

The township previously had four public safety millages. Public safety millage No. 3 — which had a levy rate of 1.0572 mills for 2022 — was set to expire in 2023. Public safety millage No. 4 — which had a levy rate of 2.2307 mills in 2022 — was set to expire in 2022.

The new replacement public safety millage combines public safety millages Nos. 3 and 4  — which had a combination levy of 3.2879 mills — to levy 3.89 mills for a period of 10 years.

Officials said the replacement millage also includes an increase of 0.6021 mills, providing an estimated boost of $2.67 million for public safety in 2023.

Because voters approved the replacement millage, the township will have three public safety millages for an overall total of 6.4087 mills in fiscal year 2023-2024. The final year of public safety millage No. 3 will not be levied in 2023, township officials said.

If fully levied, officials estimate the new public safety millage will result in the authorization to collect $18,175,000 for public safety in the first year.

Police Chief James Gallagher said the consolidation of the two millages, combined with the 0.6-mill increase, will allow the Police Department to bring back its traffic unit to provide targeted traffic enforcement, potentially expand the animal welfare hours of operation while increasing patrol officers availability, provide for the better supervision of dispatchers, and improve the Police Department’s ability to respond to community problems and needs.

“We’ve always had a supportive community and we were encouraged that the community recognized the importance and the need of public safety with the rising cost of everything — whether its equipment, personnel, or technology,” Gallagher said. “It was a good day for us and, hopefully, we can bring back some of the services our residents deserve.”

Fire Chief John LeRoy plans to use the funding to hire an additional firefighter to help with overtime costs and help with “skyrocketing costs in just about every category.”

“I’m not shocked by any means — the residents of Bloomfield generally do support police and fire millages … so they must have understood why we were doing it,” LeRoy said. “We’re excited. We’re glad to see that the residents supported us.”

Tudor Dixon emerged as the presumed winner of the Aug. 2 race for a Republican gubernatorial nominee.

At press time, according to Michigan’s elections website, Dixon won with 40.57%, which means she’ll vie against incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November.

Dixon was followed by Kevin Rinke, 21.97%; Garrett Soldano, 17.89%; Ryan Kelley, 15.39%; and Ralph Rebandt, 4.19%.

For the state Senate race for District 7, Jeremy Moss defeated Ryan Foster 82.94% to 17.06%. Moss will contend with the unopposed Republican, Corinne Khederian, in the general election.

The U.S. House of Representatives 12th District seat was contested for both Democrats and Republicans. For the Democratic race, Rashida Tlaib won with 63.82% of the votes, defeating Janice Winfrey, 22.43%, Kelly Garrett, 8.65%, and Shanelle Jackson, 5.10%. For the Republican race, Steven Elliott won with 52.90%. Elliott was followed by James Hooper, 35.37%, and Hassan H. Nehme, 11.73%.

In the state House of Representatives race for the 54th District, Shadia Martini won the Democratic race with 39.28% of the vote. Martini was followed by Stephanie Fakih, 35.29%, and Gary Gerson, 25.43%. For the Republican race, Donni Steele took 57.58% of the vote to Sandy Kiesel’s 42.42%.

For the Oakland County Board of Commissioners’ District 9, Angela Powell won over Mark E. Holland 81.14% to 18.74%. Powell will go on to face unopposed Republican Gjyste Nuculaj in the general election.