Oxford Township voters may be voting on whether to renew their fire millage sometime later this year.
Township officials last week discussed, but postponed taking any action, the possibility of placing a request to renew the fire department’s operating millage on either the August 3 primary ballot or November 2 general election ballot.
The current fire millage for unincorporated township residents – those living outside the village – was approved in October 1999 and expires with the 2005 tax collection.
Officials are considering putting a millage request on one of this year’s ballots to avoid the extra cost of holding a special election next year.
Trustee Jerry Dywasuk favored putting the millage request on the November ballot because of all the issues and uncertainties surrounding the future existence of the Oxford Public Fire and EMS Commission.
The township wishes to withdraw from and dissolve OPFEC in order to assume 100 percent ownership and operation of the fire department. It an effort to accomplish that end, the township is currently engaged in litigation against OPFEC and the village in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Dywasuk expressed his concern that voters could reject renewing a fire millage while the controversial OPFEC is still in existence.
He said it would be more prudent to put it on the ballot once the township has a “better idea” about the future ownership and operation of the department.
“There are so many things up in the air,” he said.
Trustee Shirley Clancy also favored the November ballot because that’s when there’s the “most participation” by voters and the township can get the “best sense of what the community wants.”
How many mills would be requested and would the tax continue to be levied over the unincorporated township only or include the village are other issues that must be determined, officials said.
Officials said another issue to consider is that if a millage renewal is approved this year, even though it won’t actually start being levied until 2006, the rate itself will still be subject to rollbacks under the Headlee Amendment.
Trustee Charles Kniffen said he would “like to see” a single fire millage levied over the entire township, including the village, so village residents could vote on it too.
Currently, the village’s five council members vote to set and levy their fire millage rate. Direct voter approval from village residents is not required.
Clancy warned the board not to “put this off too long.”
“Regardless of those other issues that are out there,” the trustee said the fire department “will need an operating millage.”