Election Day in Addison Township brought sweet victory for firefighters and bitter defeat for Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies.
By a margin of 432-376, voters approved an eight-year, 0.75-mill tax for local fire and ambulance services in the Tuesday, Aug. 8 primary election.
Conversely, voters weren’t so generous when in came to funding police services, failing an eight-year, 3.5-mill tax by a margin of 435-365.
It’s interesting to note that police millage passed 238-234 among voters who went to the polls yesterday, yet failed 201-127 among those who cast absentee ballots.
As a result, the township has no dedicated millage or funding in place for police services beginning next year.
‘None at all. None.? said township Treasurer Dan Alberty.
Addison’s previous police millages expired with the December 2005 tax levy.
‘I don’t know what we’re going to do,? Alberty said.
Addison’s only hope right now is to put the police millage back on the ballot in the November election. To do so would require the township to submit ballot language to Oakland County by Tuesday, Aug. 29.
‘We don’t have a choice,? Alberty said.
The treasurer attributed the millage failure to ‘low voter-turnout.?
A total of 852 (or 18 percent) of the township’s 4,734 registered voters participated in the election.
‘The people that did vote are the people on the fixed incomes,? Alberty said.
Absentee voters often include people on fixed incomes and Alberty said, ‘They took it as a millage increase.?
While it is true the 3.5-mill request was an increase over the 2.8750 mills that was last levied ? a result of Headlee rollbacks ? it was the total number of mills voters had approved in the past.
Alberty said he believes the township wouldn’t have assessed the entire 3.5 mills had the tax passed. The board would have only levied what’s needed to maintain the existing level of services, according to the treasurer.
Right now, Alberty said he’s ‘worried? about paying for the sheriff’s contract during the township’s current fiscal year, which runs from April 2006 through March 2007.
‘We don’t have enough money to potentially pay for the whole month of March,? he said. ‘The March payment we actually make in April, so if the millage was passed, then we would have enough money to make it up. We would just loan the money from the general fund (and pay it back with next year’s police millage funds).?
Addison pays approximately $72,000 a month to the sheriff’s department, according to the treasurer.
Since the millage failed ‘in order to not have to take any money out of the general fund (to help pay for March 2007), we will start to cut back as of December 31.?
‘We will have to start to cut back on sheriff’s deputies no later than the end of December,? Alberty explained. ‘In Addison Township, what that means is that there are four shifts a week that we will not have coverage, unfortunately. Four days a week on one of the shifts, which will probably be the midnight shift (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.), we would have no deputies in the township.?
‘That’s what I’m going to suggest because we have to be prudent about at least having enough money to finish this year,? the treasurer said.