The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Voters approve safety millage
Property owners to pay additional 0.5-mill levy for public safety
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2008
York Township will not have to cut one of three Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputy positions currently covering the township after voters approved a safety millage increase Tuesday.
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The millage passed with more than 58 percent of voters supporting it, garnering 573 votes in favor to 410 opposed.
Close to 20 percent of the township's registered township voters turned out to cast a ballot.
"We're quite heartened and happy with the results," said Township Supervisor Joe Zurawski. "It's a pretty convincing result and support for the millage appeared to be pretty wide spread."
The 0.5-mill levy, which runs through 2012 and will cost a homeowner of a $200,000 home an additional $50 a year, will generate an added $165,000 for police and fire protection.
The new levy is in addition to a 1-mill public safety tax voters approved in 2005 that expires in 2009. The combined 1.5 mills will bring in about $500,000 the first year, which is still short of the more than $770,000 the township spends on police and fire services, Zurawski said.
The township's budget for the fiscal year, which began April 1, allots some $460,000 for police services and almost $300,000 for fire protection, Zurawski said. The public safety funds pay for three Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies and a portion of the costs for fire protection provided by the Saline and Milan area fire departments. The remainder of the fire protection costs comes out of the general fund.
With a budget of $1.04 million, the township spends almost 88 percent of its total tax revenue on police and fire services, Zurawski said.
The additional millage was necessary to offset increased costs for police protection, which Zurawski said were raised from $99,871 per deputy last year to $149,553 per deputy in 2008.
Township officials are already considering options for renewing the 1-mill tax in 2009, Zurawski said, with the idea that the township might want to float another increase to fund 24-hour coverage seven days a week.
"We're starting to think about what to do two years from now," he said. "This millage gives us some breathing room to review our options."
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