Brandon Twp.- Without passage of an Aug. 8 ballot proposal, the township would be able to levy less than one mill on residents, likely to result in officials? inability to continue the current level of services, says supervisor Ron Lapp.
Voters in 1978 authorized township officials to levy 1.41 mills.
But 18 years later, the township is down to 1.0119 mills levied as a result of the Headlee Amendment, which rolls back millages fractionally. The township will ask that the millage be increased by .3981 mills when voters go to the polls next week.
‘We’re asking the public to restore us to 1.4100 mills from 1978,? said Lapp. ‘This is not a tax increase, it’s the restoration of a previously established millage.?
Lapp adds if it is not restored, they will fall below the one mill which is needed to provide the current level of services, particularly considering rising health care costs and upward-spiraling gas prices.
‘How do you make up costs?? asks Lapp. ‘We’ve enjoyed growth, so we make more from one mill. But our growth rate has not kept up with the inflation of health care.?
If the additional .3981 mills were to be levied, it would result in a $40 increase per year on a $100,000 home. Lapp says the township does not plan to levy more than one mill at this time, although he can’t promise that will never change. Passage of the proposal would offset millage reductions from 2006 through 2026, however, the Headlee Amendment would have even more impact, chipping away at both the 1978 millage and the 2006 restoration measure.
‘I’m excited voters approved the school bond issue and I’m hopeful they’ll support the restoration of mills,? Lapp said. ‘We need support to continue to provide the services that we do.?