When it comes to how cityhood could impact the Village of Oxford, resident Merle Smith posed the main question on the mind of most taxpayers.
‘Is this going to cost us more money?? he asked.
‘It’s unclear,? replied Thomas Ryan, the Sylvan Lake attorney representing the village’s cityhood effort.
Attendance was low at the cityhood commitee’s town hall meeting last week as only a handful of residents asked any questions in preparation for the state Boundary Commission’s public hearing 4 p.m., Thursday, May 3 at Oxford Middle School.
Cost was the big issue that kept popping up during the meeting.
‘If we make a change and we pay more taxes, I’m against it,? said Charles Brett, the new chair of the cityhood committee and a resident of Oxford Lakes. ‘If I get the numbers and I find out that by eliminating the township and becoming a city we pay more money, I’ll vote no. It’s that simple.?
While it’s true village residents would no longer be obligated to pay the township’s 0.95-mill operating tax ? which works out to 95 cents for every $1,000 of a home’s taxable value ? Ryan said the city would be required to take on three new services currently provided by the township ? assessing, tax collection for the schools and county and elections for national, state and schools.
Right now, the village only bills and collects village taxes and conducts only village elections every other year.
As for assessing, it was suggested by Ryan that the village could possibly contract with Oakland County, which charges Oxford Twp. $14.70 per parcel for real property and $12.04 per parcel for personal property.
‘It’s very expensive to run your own assessing department,? Ryan said. ‘That’s fine if you want to do that, but there are options. In this day of outsourcing and privatization, a lot of the smaller communities are going to the county.?
Village President George Del Vigna noted that Addison Township has it’s own part-time assessor who charges $12.10 per parcel.
However, that’s not accurate.
According to Addison Treasurer Dan Alberty and Deputy Treasurer Jan Ferguson, the assessor is paid $2,200 per month plus $20 per parcel for the 500-600 parcels which are re-evaluated on an annual basis in the township.
When it came to property tax rates, it was noted by Ryan that cities by law can only levy up to 20 mills.
However, William Mathewson, general counsel for the Michigan Municipal League, pointed out that the new city could put a ‘different millage limit? in the charter, one lower than the state’s cap, if the voters wanted it.
‘With respect to municipal taxes you will have an extra measure of control as a city as opposed to the situation you have now,? he said.
But some argued cityhood shouldn’t just boil down to costs, be they savings or increases. ‘It may cost us more money, but perhaps the advantages of being a city might be worth the additional cost,? Smith said.
Smith asked if it’s true cities get more federal dollars than villages or townships.
‘In this day and age I don’t think you can count on the federal government anymore,? Ryan replied. ‘There maybe some advantage technically, but whether it is going to come to fruition or not, I don’t think you should hedge you’re bets on that.?
Oxford Lakes resident John Campbell argued that money isn’t everything, if it get the village what it wants.
‘Don’t you think we need to look beyond the costs?? he said. ‘There are things we choose to do that cost us more money.?
‘If that turns out to be a nickel more than what we’re paying right now (and) it’s going to get us what we want, we’ll be glad to do that. I think we can’t focus too much on cost,? Campbell added.
Campbell believes cityhood’s the answer to the township and village’s often troubled relationship.
‘I’ve been here 13 years and it’s just awful. I’m ashamed of it. It’s terrible,? he said. ‘I think if we were a city suddenly that would change and we’d work everything out.?
New development and growth in the township was brought up as another possible reason for the village to consider cityhood.
Ryan said that’s what moved Clarkston to break away from Indpendence Township and become a city in the early 1990s. ‘They decided they didn’t want to be a smaller subdivision of the township,? he said.
Clarston was ‘already established? with its ‘own services,? much like Oxford Village, whereas the growing Independence Township had growing infrastructure and service needs. Fearing they would be ‘swallowed up by the township,? Clarkston residents ‘struck out on their own,? Ryan explained.
Mathewson told the audience the main issue is control and how much the village wants.
‘I think it really boils down to ? do you really want to control your destiny and if so, one way to take another step . . . would be to become a city, which would give you greater control of what happens in this community,? he said.
Ron Davis, director of the township’s Parks and Recreation Department, noted that if the village became a city, its residents would no longer be township residents and therefore assessed the average $10 non-resident fee for each youth and adult sports program.
He also noted city residents would no longer receive the recreation program brochures mailed out quarterly to all township residents nor would they be allowed access to Stony Lake Park, which is a township-resident-only facility.
However, Ryan pointed out that if city residents were still paying a millage to parks and rec., they couldn’t be denied anything they’re entitled to now. ‘You can’t just collect money and not allow us the service,? he said.
The current parks and rec. millage expires in 2009. Davis indicated he plans to seek a 10-year renewal either this year or next.
If the millage is approved while the village is still part of the township, should cityhood succeed after that, city residents would still be responsible to keep paying the tax.
‘The city cannot back away from the village’s obligations,? Ryan said.