When Oxford Twp. voters go to the polls in August, they will be asked to continue funding a valuable part of local history, according to Parks and Recreation Director Ron Davis.
‘The actual community of Oxford’s pretty much been built around the parks and recreation department,? said Davis, who noted the department was established in 1932 and had its first dedicated millage approved by voters in 1975.
Township officials last week voted 6-1 to place a 10-year millage renewal request for parks and rec. on the Aug. 2 primary ballot.
The current 0.8538-mill tax is set to expire with the December 2009 tax collection. If approved by voters, this renewed millage would begin with the December 2010 tax levy and end with the December 2019 collection.
Davis explained his department wanted to ‘take an active approach? by placing the renewal on this year’s ballot so ‘just in case it does not pass, we have another year to try.?
The exact millage rate and how much revenue its expected to generate in its first year, if approved, will not be available until Oakland County releases the necessary numbers in May.
It’s expected the current 0.8538-mill rate will not roll back due to the Headlee Amendment for the December 2008 tax bill.
However, the 6.8 percent average decrease in residential property values is expected to translate into an overall decrease in the township’s total taxable value, meaning the same millage rate will collect less tax revenue than it did last year.
But Davis assured the township board he’s not planning to make up any revenue shortfalls by asking voters to approve a tax hike. ‘I wouldn’t do that to this community right now,? he said. ‘It’s not an increase. It is a renewal.?
Given the millage is the department’s main source of revenue, Davis said without it ‘we certainly couldn’t do what we do daily.?
In Davis? opinion, park and rec. is just as important as other township services because it ‘attracts? and ‘retains? both families and businesses.
‘The parks and recreation department’s a vital part of this community,? he said.
Trustee Doleen Behnke asked how this proposed millage renewal will affect the $390,000 SplashPad project (to be built in Seymour Lake Park) being spearheaded by the parks and rec. department along with the Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs.
‘The splash park will not affect this whatsoever,? said Davis, noting his department’s $100,000 contribution to the project is coming out of its existing fund equity. ‘This won’t determine a splash park’s existence.?
Treasurer Joe Ferrari made it clear he supports the parks and rec. department, but he cast the lone vote against placing the renewal request on the ballot because it lacked the exact numbers people will be voting on.
‘I just want clean, tight language,? he said.