Voters are being asked to approve millage renewals and increases for the Orion Township Fire Department and Oakland County Sheriff’s Department contract in the Aug. 3 Primary Election.
If Ok’d, the fire department will levy .9836 of one mill, with an additional .0137 of a mill, for a total of one mill, for a period of four years, starting in December.
The proposal would authorize the township to collect $1,677,765 for the department, in the first year.
In addition, voters could approve a 1.9303 of two mills proposal, with an additional .0697 of two mills, for a total of two mills, for the OCSD. The proposal is also for four years, starting in December.
The OCSD millage would result in an estimated $3,355,530 in the first year.
Orion Township Fire Chief Jeff Key said the millage proposal before voters on Aug. 3 is not really an increase over the millage that the department has run on for years.
‘The increase is a small fraction of what was authorized four years ago,? he said. ‘We’re just trying to put it back to the one mill it was since 1962.?
Key said for legal reasons the wording on the ballot proposal must identify it as an ‘increase.?
‘It is more than last year, so they have to call it an increase,? he said. ‘It keeps us up with all the growth in the township.?
Key said a third of the money goes to the department’s capital improvement fund, which pays for such things as the new fire station being built on Baldwin Road. Key said construction will hopefully begin before this winter, and be completed sometime next spring or summer.
‘We also replace trucks…We take money out of our budget every year so we don’t have to go borrow it,? he added. ‘We’ve gone back to the voters every four years (since 1962) and operated on that one mill since.?
According to Key, compared to what surrounding communities levy for their fire departments, Orion’s proposal is considerably lower.
‘Independence Township runs on 3.2 mills,? he added. ‘Compared to these other communities, we’re way below them.?
OCSD Lt. Bruce Naile, commander of the Orion Substation, said the proposal for the OCSD contract, including an increase, is a similar situation to the fire department.
‘It’s not really an increase,? he said. ‘It’s a fraction of an increase, due to the Headley Rollback. This just puts it back at 2 mills.?
The proposal would allow for the same amount of money that has been collected for the OCSD contract in Orion Township for the past eight years.
‘It’s basically that all the money goes into the sheriff’s contract…that covers all our equipment,? he said. ‘As the township’s SEV increases, one mill becomes work more, so we may add officers for the township in the future.
‘If we decide we need to do that, we’ll make that decision with the township.?