🕯� LADY BUDGETDOWN'S SOCIETY PAPERS
Oakland County — The August Tax Ballot
Dearest Readers,
One might be forgiven for believing that the 1.5-mill Regional Enhancement Millage — projected to raise approximately $125.8 million in its first year — was the only tax proposal awaiting Oakland County voters on August 4.
Oh, dear reader...
It most certainly is not.
Scattered throughout Oakland County are numerous additional bond and millage proposals — some new, some renewals, and some renewals accompanied by increases or restorations.
And while not every proposal applies to every Oakland County taxpayer, the proposals appearing in your particular community can ultimately affect your property tax bill.
Here is what else is on the ballot:
🏛� CITIES
• Auburn Hills — 4.00 mills — NEW/REPLACEMENT
Fire, EMS & Advanced Life Support — approx. $8.9M first year
• Huntington Woods — $17M BOND — NEW
Roads, sewers, water mains & parks — approx. 1.98 mills initially
• Madison Heights — 2.00 mills — NEW
Residential streets & sewer repairs — approx. $2.42M first year
• Oak Park — 7.00 mills — RENEWAL
Public safety retirement — approx. $5.62M first year
• Oak Park — 0.985 mills — RENEWAL/RESTORATION
Public safety operations — approx. $791K first year
• Pontiac — 0.4826 mills — RENEWAL
Senior services — approx. $684K
• Pontiac — 1.4483 mills — RENEWAL
Youth centers — approx. $2.05M
• Pontiac — 1.466 mills — RENEWAL + INCREASE
Public library — approx. $2.05M
• Rochester Hills — 0.1715 mills — RENEWAL
Pathways & trails — approx. $865K
• Rochester Hills — up to 3.50 mills — INCREASED AUTHORITY
Fire Department — up to $5.04M in additional first-year revenue
• Royal Oak — 4.60 mills — CHARTER MILLAGE
Police, fire & EMS — approx. $18.08M
• Royal Oak — 1.00 mill — RENEWAL
Trash & recycling — approx. $3.93M
• Wixom — 1.0645 mills — RENEWAL
Library — approx. $1.30M
🏡 TOWNSHIPS
• Addison — 3.4874 mills — RENEWAL/RESTORATION — Police
• Bloomfield — 0.6575 mills — RENEWAL — Roads
• Bloomfield — 1.8428 mills — RENEWAL — Public safety
• Brandon — 4.25 mills — RENEWAL — Police
• Highland — 2.32 mills — RENEWAL + INCREASE — Fire/EMS
• Holly — 1.31 mills — RENEWAL + RESTORATION — Library
• Independence — 3.20 mills — RENEWAL + INCREASE — Police
• Independence — 0.32 mills — NEW — School Resource Officers
• Orion — 3.75 mills — RENEWAL + INCREASE — Police
• Orion — 3.85 mills — NEW — Fire/EMS
• Royal Oak Township — 1.2834 mills — RENEWAL/RESTORATION — Library
• Royal Oak Township — 0.7166 mills — RENEWAL/RESTORATION — Library
• Springfield — 2.00 mills — RENEWAL/RESTORATION — Fire/EMS
• Springfield — 2.9441 mills — RENEWAL/RESTORATION — Police
• Waterford — 1.50 mills — RENEWAL + RESTORATION — Police
• Waterford — 1.00 mill — RENEWAL + RESTORATION — Fire #1
• Waterford — 1.00 mill — RENEWAL + RESTORATION — Fire #2
• White Lake — 0.3603 mills — RENEWAL — Library
🏘� VILLAGE
• Franklin — 3.40 mills — NEW/REPLACEMENT
Police services — approx. $1.68M first year
🏫 SCHOOLS
These operating proposals generally apply to non-homestead property, rather than principal residences:
• Almont Community Schools — RENEWAL — up to 18 mills levied
• Northville Public Schools — REPLACEMENT — up to 18 mills levied
• Oxford Community Schools — REPLACEMENT/RESTORATION — up to 18 mills levied
• Waterford School District — REPLACEMENT/RESTORATION — up to 18 mills levied
📚 DISTRICT LIBRARIES
• Ferndale Area District Library — 3.31 mills — RENEWAL + INCREASE — approx. $3.4M
• Ferndale Area District Library — 0.50 mill — NEW — Capital improvements — approx. $515K
• Hazel Park District Library — 2.50 mills — RENEWAL + RESTORATION — approx. $1.01M
And then, of course, there is the proposal that stretches across the Oakland Schools ISD:
🎓 OAKLAND SCHOOLS REGIONAL ENHANCEMENT MILLAGE
1.50 mills — NEW TAX
6 years
Approximately $125.76 MILLION in the first year alone.
So when discussing the proposed 1.5-mill Regional Enhancement Millage, remember the larger picture.
It is not the only millage or bond proposal on the August ballot.
Depending upon where one lives, taxpayers may also be voting on proposals for police, fire departments, EMS, roads, sewers, libraries, schools, trails, recycling, school resource officers and other services.
Some merely continue existing taxes.
Some restore taxes to previously approved rates.
Some increase them.
And some are entirely new.
Each proposal deserves to be judged on its own merits.
But taxpayers also deserve to see the whole ballot — and the potential cumulative effect on their tax bills.
Because, dear readers, government rarely presents the tax bill all at once.
It arrives one mill at a time. 🕯�
— Lady Budgetdown
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