Brandon Twp.- The township board will have a special meeting at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 26, at Fire Station #1, 53 South St. for the purpose of discussing the police millage language for the August election.
The police millage, currently levied at 3.5286 mills, expired at the end of December.
‘If we want to continue having police coverage, we need to have a millage approved in August,? said Supervisor Kathy Thurman.
The current millage pays for a contract with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which provides 10.5 deputies to cover the township, dispatched from a police substation located in the village.
Voters approved 4 mills for police about 20 years ago, but the 3.5286 is the maximum the township can levy after the mills were rolled back due to the Headlee Amendment.
During the meeting, Thurman said the board will discuss how many mills to request for levy, length of the millage proposal and the actual ballot language.
Currently, the township is using cable franchise fees to supplement the police fund.
‘Property values have been increasing, as well as the cost of the sheriff’s office contract, so we are taking that into consideration,? Thurman said. ‘We are looking at a 5-year projected budget for a police staff of 10.5 officers (one officer shared with Independence Township). It’s highly doubtful we will increase staff, we don’t have the funding unless we were to increase the mills.?
Thurman expects to discuss with the board whether 4 mills will be enough to keep staffing levels as they are for the next five years.