The township board formally approved wording for three August 5 election ballot-issues ? the Police, Fire and Safety Path millage renewals ? at their meeting last week.
All three items have been reviewed and approved by the township’s legal counsel.
The police millage is the largest under the township’s watch, at 1.9832 mills ($1.9832 per $1,000 of taxable value) and includes both the township and village (which are overseen by two separate departments).
The Lake Orion Police Department oversees the village, while the township contracts with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department for police protection services.
Court rulings require that any millage levied be uniform and, as such, the board also approved a Police Millage Agreement, which the Supervisor is authorized to sign as soon as the renewal is approved by voters (and the election has been certified by the Board of Canvassers).
Like the police millage, the fire millage renewal sought by the township calls for four years. The renewal is for .9916 mills ($0.9916 per $1,000 of taxable value).
The safety path millage renewal is for 10 years at .2382 mills. This is the same amount first approved in 1988 and again in 1998. It was rejected by 18 votes last year, with a new safety path bond failing by over 900 votes.
This is the last year for the current millages to be levied on all three items. If approved and levied, it is estimated that the police renewal would result in authorization to collect approximately $3,697,418 in the first year, while the fire renewal would net around $1,848,709 and the safety path renewal would come in at nearly $440,093.
A library bond issue, however, will not appear on a ballot this year.
‘With all the other issues on the ballot, we thought it would be too much for the voters to take on in this economy,? Library Director Linda Sickles said, adding that the library board came to that decision in January.
Sickles added that it is imperative for the library’s next bond issue to pass, which factored into their decision.
Voters in Oakland Township, meanwhile, will likely decide on a 1 mill proposal for their Fire Department on Aug. 5. That amount is up slightly from the current .9371 millage.
Oakland Township has two fire stations (on Collins and Rochester Roads). The topic was to be voted on at Tuesday’s township board meeting, which took place after this edition went to print.